France to introduce 15 as legal age of consent for sex

Jane Onyanga-Omara | USA TODAY

France announced plans to make 15 the legal age of consent for sex after high-profile cases including those of two men who escaped rape charges for having sex with 11-year-old girls caused national outrage.

Equality Minister Marlene Schiappa told the AFP news agency Monday that “the government has decided to set the age at 15” following public consultations and recommendations from a panel of experts.

The legislation, which will be presented to lawmakers for approval later this month, is part of a slew of government measures to tackle sexual violence, gender-based discrimination and harassment.

Adults can be charged with groping and sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison if they’re found guilty of abusing a child under 15. The more serious charge of aggravated sexual assault or rape of a child carries a sentence of up to 20 years — but coercion or violence must be proven.

French child protection activists and lawmakers had called for the age of consent to be introduced following a series of widely publicized cases. Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet suggested a legal minimum age of 13 for sexual consent, while other French leaders called for 15.

“We want the irrefutable presumption that a minor cannot agree to engage in sex with an adult,” said Catherine Brault, a lawyer who defends child victims in Paris, last year.

In the United States, the age of consent set by the states ranges from 16 to 18.

In November, a 30-year-old man was acquitted of raping an 11-year-old girl after the court decided she was not subjected to “constraint, threat, violence or surprise,” France 24 reported.

In a separate case, a 31-year-old math teacher who had sex with a 14-year-old student was handed a suspended jail sentence in November.

In another recent case that caused outrage, a 29-year-old man went on trial for sexual assault at a court in Paris for having sex with an 11-year-old girl that prosecutors said was "consensual." The court later decided the man should be tried for rape and sent the case to a higher court.

Carine Diebolt, the girl’s family’s lawyer, said that decision was “a victory for the victims."

"There is no question of consent when we're talking about a child of 11 years," Diebolt previously told reporters, AFP reported.

Contributing: Maya Vidon

More: In France, there is no minimum age of consent for sex — that may change soon

More: Asking a woman for her number may become illegal in this country