While 165,000 children are victims of sexual abuse each year, a new law was enacted in April 2021 to better protect children. It introduces for the first time an age threshold for non-consent at 15 years old and 18 in the event of incest.

CAMELEON welcomes this historic breakthrough for which we have been fighting for several years, made possible thanks to the courageous testimonies of former victims and the mobilization of numerous associations, parliamentarians and citizens. This law also includes other provisions to combat crimes and sexual offenses against minors. Below is an introduction about the 4 flagship measures.

Consent threshold set at 15 years old

For Mrs. Annick Billon, the senator behind the bill, the objective was to certify the prohibition of any sexual act between an adult and a child. In fact, in order to qualify it as a crime or sexual assault, it was necessary to seek, as with practices between adults, elements of violence, constraint, threat or surprise.

Mrs. Billon believes that “the notion of consent, already complex when the victim is an adult, simply has no place in the debate when the victim is particularly young”. From now on, new legal articles inserted in the Code Pénal create sexual offenses specifically concerning minors.

Thus any act of penetration by an adult to a minor under the age of 15 (including oral genital acts) will be considered a crime with a penalty of 20 years in prison. Without penetration, the sexual act will be qualified as sexual assault, with a penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros. Pedophiles can no longer rely on the so-called “consent” of their victims. This is a major step forward in the fight against impunity for sexual violence committed against children.

Specific conditions: threshold of non-consent at 13 or 18 years old

• Threshold of consent at 13 years old in the event of an age difference of less than 5 years

A waiver clause nicknamed “Romeo et Juliette”, provides that, if the age difference between the adult and the child is less than 5 years, the new qualification of rape or assault will not automatically apply. It therefore concerns young adults having sex with minors aged 13 and over, so as not to penalize “adolescent love affairs”. It will also be necessary to look for elements of violence, constraint, threat or surprise. In this case, the age threshold for non-consent is set at 13 years old.

• Consent threshold at age 18 in the event of incest

In case of incest, the minor is presumed non-consenting until 18 years old. But if the perpetrator of the incestuous sexual act is a member of the family other than the father, mother or grandparents, this adult (brother, sister, uncle, aunt, step-parent) must exercise over the child “a de jure or de facto authority” to qualify the act as a crime or aggression without seeking the child’s non-consent. The penalties are also 20 years or 10 years imprisonment.

Prolonged prescription

The new law does not change the statute of limitations for sexual crimes against minors, extended by the law of August 3, 2018: 30 years from the victim’s majority, i.e. up to the age of 48. It introduced a principle of “sliding” or “prolonged” limitation if the perpetrator subsequently rapes or sexually assaults another child, until the prescription date of this new offense. Thus, the commission of a new offense may extend the limitation period for an old offense.

A second mechanism has been voted: an act interrupting prescription. When the perpetrator is subjected to a procedural act, for example a hearing, this interrupts the statute of limitations not only in the case under consideration, but also in the proceedings of other minor victims of rape or assault. This can make possible, in the case of successive crimes, to prevent certain cases from ending up when others could go to court.

Sextortion, other crimes and misdemeanors

A new article also punishes the offense of “sextortion”, consisting for an adult in inciting a minor to engage in sexual practices on the Internet, in particular to obtain the images. This offense is punishable by 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros. Finally, other amendments strengthen the penalties for sexual exposure, procuring and the use of child prostitution.

The fight goes on!

To sum up: the new law sets an age threshold for non-consent at 15 and at 18 in the event of an incest. It can extend the statute of limitations in the event of new victims of the same aggressor, and creates a specific “sextortion” offense. For more information, please consult the law to protect minors. (n° 2021-478 21st April 2021) : https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000043403203?r=jRiua87o0L

We are proud of this first victory in our 500 days campaign to protect children from sexual violence. A child is never consenting! However, we underline certain weaknesses in the law, in particular on the definition of incest and the clause related to the minimum age difference of 5 years between major and minor.

According to Florence Provendier, Member of Parliament for Hauts-de-Seine and Vice-President of the Board of Directors of CAMELEON, who has worked to fight against sexual violence within the framework of this law by making several amendments, it is important that the law can ensure “strong and equal protection for each minor under 15: because below 15, it’s no, whatever the reasons. In addition, it is essential to alert children and free their voice, and also to support the professionals who will apply this text”. We thank her for her exemplary political commitment to children’s rights and the invaluable support she brings to the association alongside other actors in the field.

Let us remain vigilant, committed and determined to raise awareness, change laws and mentalities. In addition to strengthening the law, prevention and training actions must therefore be implemented with children, professionals and citizens to eradicate this violence. This is our fight at CAMELEON’s social mission in France.