Spain has officially passed a new sexual consent law which states that consent cannot be assumed by default or through silence. 

Being dubbed the ‘only yes means yes’ law, Spanish congress passed the legislation in the wake of the 2016 Sabadell case which saw an 18-year-old woman raped by a group of five men. 

The ‘only yes means yes’ law has removed any distinction between sexual abuse and rape, stating that: “Consent can only be considered consent when it has been freely manifested through actions that, in accordance with the circumstances, clearly express the person’s wishes.”

Under this new legislation, consent must be explicit and not assumed. The legislation was passed with a 205 majority, with 141 MPs voting against and three abstaining. 

Video footage of the horrific Sabadell case, also called the wolf pack case, was presented as evidence to prove consent, despite the woman appearing unconscious. During the trial, one judge claimed the men should only be charged for stealing the victim’s phone and not the assault. 

The assailants were eventually charged with the lesser crime of sexual abuse and sentenced to nine years in jail. However, mass protests prompted the charge to be changed to rape and increased it to a 15-year jail term. 

#MaltaDaily