Spain to introduce new law on sexual consent

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said his government will introduce a new law on sexual consent to clear ambiguities in rape cases.

Sex without explicit consent would be considered rape under the new law.

It comes after a notorious case in which five men, who called themselves the "Wolf Pack", were convicted of sexually assaulting a young woman in Pamplona in 2016 but acquitted of gang rape.

The decision outraged the nation and led to street protests. All five are currently appealing against their nine-year jail sentences.

Massive protest against the release on bail of five men known as the "Wolf Pack" cleared of gang rape of a teenager and convicted of a lesser crime of sexual abuse in Madrid, Spain, June 22, 2018. /VCG Photo

"To be clear, ladies and gentlemen, if they say no it means no, and if they don't say yes, it means no," Sanchez told parliament.

The proposed laws were first unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo last week.

Ms Calvo, who is also equality minister, said that the "only yes means yes" approach ensured "the autonomy, freedom and respect for a person along with their sexuality."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez named 11 women to top posts in a cabinet with six male ministers, the highest ratio of female cabinet ministers in a European government. /VCG Photo

A similar law that came into effect in Sweden on July 1 says a person must give clear consent, verbal or physical. It means prosecutors will no longer need to prove violence or that the victim was in a vulnerable situation in order to establish rape.

According to the police report, the Pamplona victim maintained a "passive or neutral" attitude throughout the scene, which was filmed by some of her attackers on their phones.

Under current Spanish law, the charge of sexual abuse differs from rape in that it does not involve violence or intimidation.

(Cover: A woman protests against the release on bail of five men known as the "Wolf Pack" cleared of gang rape of a teenager and convicted of a lesser crime of sexual abuse in Seville, Spain, June 22, 2018. /VCG Photo)