Over 100 sex offenders released by flawed Spanish consent law
New figures reveal that over 100 sex offenders have been released from prison as a result of Spain's flawed and controversial 'solo sí es sí' sexual consent law, as well as almost 1000 who have had their sentences reduced.
New data from the Spanish judiciary has revealed that Spain's controversial sexual consent law 'solo sí es sí' has led to the release of over 100 sex offenders and helped almost 1000 have their sentences reduced.
The consent law, which came into force in October 2022, has led to 103 offenders being released from prison, as well as 943 having their sentences reduced, according to sources from the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) speaking to Spanish outlet 20minutos.
READ ALSO:
- Why is Spain reducing prison sentences for rapists?
- ‘Only yes means yes’: Spain tightens sexual consent law
In reality, the figures could be higher because the CGPJ doesn't yet have data from all courts across Spain, and figures from Guipúzcoa, Granada, Seville and Teruel are not included, as well as from the high courts in Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Castilla y León and the Basque Country.
The 943 reductions represents an increase of more than 200 since the first time the CGPJ provided data around a month ago. On March 2nd, the CGPJ reported 721 reductions and 74 releases across Spain.
The CGPJ has not indicated whether these judgments are final, nor what is the total number of sentence revisions, so calculating the exact proportion of sex offenders who have had their sentences reduced is hard to gauge. However, data from Spain's Penitentiary Institution states that as of December 2022 there were a total of 4,023 people in prison in Spain for committing 'crimes against sexual freedom', of which 99 percent were men, so it can be roughly said that around one in four prisoners have had their sentence reduced as a result of the law.
Amendments ahead
The eye-catching figures come just days after PSOE, the senior coalition partner in government, rejected a new round of proposed amendments from Podemos, its junior coalition partner and backers of the law. Spain's Equalities Minister Irene Montero, a Podemos member, was the ideological brainchild of the backfiring legislation, and the political backlash has caused something of a rift in the coalition as the Spanish Congress tries to debate and reform the bill and get it back through the legislature.
Why is this happening?
Spain's Equality Ministry have previously blamed the reduced sentences and releases on "voluntary judicial interpretations against the advance of feminism."
In the known cases so far - which were overseen by different judges, it should be noted - the reductions rest on the principle in the Spanish Criminal Code that establishes any legislative reform that could favour the defendant must be applied retroactively, which is why there have been reductions and releases related to old cases in recent months.
Put simply, the 'solo sí es sí' law effectively removed the legal distinction between sexual abuse and rape. That is to say, by grouping rape and abuse together, the law has widened the range of potential penalties for both crimes.In other words, the minimum sentences for minor crimes became lower, and the maximum sentences for the most serious crimes higher.
As the law must be applied retroactively, this means that all defendants sentenced with the old minimum penalty are now within their legal rights to request a review of their sentences because, if they had been sentenced under the current law, it could have plausibly been lower.
Politics
Though Irene Montero has denied any responsibility for the reductions and releases and instead shifted the blame to judges for making a "reactionary and surprising reading of the law," she has been lambasted in the Spanish press, particularly by the right-leaning newspapers, who have christened the legislation 'Montero's law'.
The political backlash has strained relations between PSOE and Podemos, and with more debates and another vote anticipated sometime in April, there seems to be a clear dividing line on how best to reform the law. Pedro Sánchez's PSOE and main opposition party Partido Popular argue that violence and intimidation must be reintroduced as aggravated subtypes of sexual offences in order to increase penalties, whereas Podemos, supported by smaller leftist parties like ERC or Bildu, believe doing so would remove consent from the heart of the law and that both subtypes should be considered aggravating circumstances.
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New data from the Spanish judiciary has revealed that Spain's controversial sexual consent law 'solo sí es sí' has led to the release of over 100 sex offenders and helped almost 1000 have their sentences reduced.
The consent law, which came into force in October 2022, has led to 103 offenders being released from prison, as well as 943 having their sentences reduced, according to sources from the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) speaking to Spanish outlet 20minutos.
READ ALSO:
- Why is Spain reducing prison sentences for rapists?
- ‘Only yes means yes’: Spain tightens sexual consent law
In reality, the figures could be higher because the CGPJ doesn't yet have data from all courts across Spain, and figures from Guipúzcoa, Granada, Seville and Teruel are not included, as well as from the high courts in Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Castilla y León and the Basque Country.
The 943 reductions represents an increase of more than 200 since the first time the CGPJ provided data around a month ago. On March 2nd, the CGPJ reported 721 reductions and 74 releases across Spain.
The CGPJ has not indicated whether these judgments are final, nor what is the total number of sentence revisions, so calculating the exact proportion of sex offenders who have had their sentences reduced is hard to gauge. However, data from Spain's Penitentiary Institution states that as of December 2022 there were a total of 4,023 people in prison in Spain for committing 'crimes against sexual freedom', of which 99 percent were men, so it can be roughly said that around one in four prisoners have had their sentence reduced as a result of the law.
Amendments ahead
The eye-catching figures come just days after PSOE, the senior coalition partner in government, rejected a new round of proposed amendments from Podemos, its junior coalition partner and backers of the law. Spain's Equalities Minister Irene Montero, a Podemos member, was the ideological brainchild of the backfiring legislation, and the political backlash has caused something of a rift in the coalition as the Spanish Congress tries to debate and reform the bill and get it back through the legislature.
Why is this happening?
Spain's Equality Ministry have previously blamed the reduced sentences and releases on "voluntary judicial interpretations against the advance of feminism."
In the known cases so far - which were overseen by different judges, it should be noted - the reductions rest on the principle in the Spanish Criminal Code that establishes any legislative reform that could favour the defendant must be applied retroactively, which is why there have been reductions and releases related to old cases in recent months.
Put simply, the 'solo sí es sí' law effectively removed the legal distinction between sexual abuse and rape. That is to say, by grouping rape and abuse together, the law has widened the range of potential penalties for both crimes.In other words, the minimum sentences for minor crimes became lower, and the maximum sentences for the most serious crimes higher.
As the law must be applied retroactively, this means that all defendants sentenced with the old minimum penalty are now within their legal rights to request a review of their sentences because, if they had been sentenced under the current law, it could have plausibly been lower.
Politics
Though Irene Montero has denied any responsibility for the reductions and releases and instead shifted the blame to judges for making a "reactionary and surprising reading of the law," she has been lambasted in the Spanish press, particularly by the right-leaning newspapers, who have christened the legislation 'Montero's law'.
The political backlash has strained relations between PSOE and Podemos, and with more debates and another vote anticipated sometime in April, there seems to be a clear dividing line on how best to reform the law. Pedro Sánchez's PSOE and main opposition party Partido Popular argue that violence and intimidation must be reintroduced as aggravated subtypes of sexual offences in order to increase penalties, whereas Podemos, supported by smaller leftist parties like ERC or Bildu, believe doing so would remove consent from the heart of the law and that both subtypes should be considered aggravating circumstances.
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