Sexual consent in the Spanish Criminal Code: shadows of its political and legal construction through the Law on the Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1799

Keywords:

Sexual Violence, Violence against Women, Criminal Law, Legal Feminism, Rape Law, Sexual consent

Abstract

The criminal regulation of sexual crimes in Spain has recently been modified in order to include a consent-based definition of rape. From a feminist framework, this socio-legal research calls this criminal reform into question. Specifically, the main objective is to study the potentialities and constraints of the legal element of sexual consent to meet women's lived experiences and their ways of performing gender. Drawing on the works of feminism and legal feminism of the last century that dismantled heteropatriarchal sexual politics, as well as relying on current feminist approaches to consent, I expose the shadows, grey areas, and deep-rooted assumptions that underlie the political-legal construction of this hackneyed concept. To do so, I primarily use Carol Bacchi's critical policy analysis in order to explore the Spanish criminal policy discourse concerning this penal modification. In my analysis I examine the preparatory works of the legislative amendment as well as selected oral debates held in the Congress of Deputies and in the Equality Commission. The main findings show how this policy contradicts and collides head-on with many foundational contributions of feminist theory in relation to sexual violence. Nonetheless, relying on broader historical discourses of human rights and international law and repeatedly alluding to the feminist social movement, as well as due to the functionality of the modern notion of consent in a neoliberal system, this legislative amendment enjoys a high level of acceptance.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

        Metrics

Views 880
Downloads:
13(S1)_Altuzarra_OSLS 535
XML_13(S1)_Altuzarra_OSLS 103


Author Biography

Itziar Altuzarra, UPV/EHU

Itziar Altuzarra es investigadora predoctoral en el Departamento de Derecho Administrativo, Constitucional y Filosofía del Derecho de la Facultad de Derecho de la Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea / Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU). Correo electrónico: itziar.altuzarra@ehu.eus

References

Acale, M., 2021. Delitos sexuales: razones y sinrazones para esta reforma. IgualdadES [en línea], 5, 467–485. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/IgdES.5.06 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/IgdES.5.06

Altuzarra, I., 2020. El delito de violación en el Código Penal español: Análisis de la difícil delimitación entre la intimidación de la agresión sexual y el prevalimiento del abuso sexual. Revisión a la luz de la normativa internacional. Estudios de Deusto [en línea], 68(1), 511–558. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.18543/ed-68(1)-2020pp511-558 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ed-68(1)-2020pp511-558

Altuzarra, I., y Szpiga, A., 2023. “Matxirulo, zure jaixa bukatu da!“ La militancia feminista de Oñati frente a las agresiones. Oñatiko Udala. Argitalpenak [en línea]. Disponible en: https://www.xn--oati-gqa.eus/eu/udala/argitalpenak/altuzarra-szpiga-matxirulo-zure-jaixa-bukatu-da_ok-min.pdf/view

Angel, K., 2021. Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again: Women and Desire in the Age of Consent. Londres: Verso Books.

Antonsdóttir, H.F., 2020. Decentring Criminal Law. Understandings of Justice by Victim-Survivors of Sexual Violence and their Implications for Different Justice Strategies. Tesis doctoral. Universidad de Lund, Departamento de Sociología del Derecho.

Bacchi, C., 2009. Analysing pol’cy: What‘s the problem represented to be? Londres: Pearson.

Bacchi, C., 2012. Why Study Problematizations? Making Politics Visible. Open journal of political science [en línea], 2(1), 1–8. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.4236/ojps.2012.21001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ojps.2012.21001

Bacchi, C., y Goodwin, S., 2016. Poststructural Policy Analysis [en línea]. Nueva York: Palgrave. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52546-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52546-8

Bidaseca, K., 2011. “Mujeres blancas buscando salvar a mujeres color café”: desigualdad, colonialismo jurídico y feminismo postcolonial. Andamios. Revista de Investigación Social [en línea], 8(17), 61–89. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.29092/uacm.v8i17.445 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29092/uacm.v8i17.445

Bourdieu, P., 1987. The Force of Law: Toward a Sociology of the Juridical Field. Hastings Law Journal [en línea], 38(5), 814–853. Disponible en: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2905&context=hastings_law_journal

Bourdieu, P., y Teubner, G., 2000. La fuerza del derecho. Santafé de Bogotá: Uniandes.

Brownmiller, S., 1975. Against our will: men, women and rape. Nueva York: Fawcett Columbine.

Butler, J., 1993. Bodies that matter. On the discursive limits of “sex”. Nueva York/Londres: Routledge.

Butler, J., 2011. Judith Butler: Your Behavior Creates Your Gender [Video]. Join Big Think [en línea]. Disponible en: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo7o2LYATDc

Campos, A., 2008. Aportaciones iusfeministas a la revisión crítica del Derecho y a la experiencia jurídica [en línea]. Presentación en el congreso Mujeres y Derecho, pasado y presente. Octubre. Sección de Bizkaia de la Facultad de Derecho: Dirección de Igualdad del Vicerrectorado de la UPV/EHU, 167–226. Disponible en: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/2874672.pdf

Castro-Gómez, S., 2005. La hybris del punto cero: ciencia, raza e ilustración en la Nueva Granada (1750–1816). Bogotá: Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.

Chetcuti-Osorovit, N., 2021. Femmes en prison et violences de genre. Resistances à perpétuité. París: La Dispute.

Cossman, B., 2021. The new sex wars. Sexual harm in the #MeToo era [en línea]. New York University Press. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479802722.001.0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479802722.001.0001

Cowan, S., 2007. Freedom and capacity to make a choice. A feminist analysis of consent in the criminal law of rape. En: V. Munro, y C.F. Stychin, eds., Sexuality and the law. Feminist engagements. Oxon: Routledge-Cavendish, 51–71.

Cowart, M., 2004. Understanding Acts of Consent: Using Speech Act Theory to Help Resolve Moral Dilemmas and Legal Disputes. Law and Philosophy, 23(5), 495–525.

Crenshaw, K., 1989. Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum [en línea], 1989(1), Articulo 8, 139–167. Disponible en: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8

Cuello, N., y Morgan, L., eds., 2018. Críticas sexuales a la razón punitiva. Neuquén: Precarias.

Damonti, P., 2020. La brecha orgásmica. Pamplona: Katakrak liburuak.

Drakopoulou, M., 2007. Feminism and consent: a genealogical inquiry. En: S. Cowan y R. Hunter, eds., Choice and Consent: Feminist Engagements with Law and Subjectivity. Critical Approaches to Law. Londres: Routledge Cavendish, 9–38.

Edwards, S., 1981. Female sexuality & the Law. Oxford: Martin Robertson.

Espinosa Miñoso, Y., 2007. Escritos de una lesbiana oscura: reflexiones críticas sobre feminismo y política de identidad en América Latina. Buenos Aires/Lima: En la Frontera.

Faraldo, P., 2020. Hacia una reforma de los delitos sexuales con perspectiva de género. En: A. Monge y J. Parrilla, eds., Mujer y Derecho penal: ¿necesidad de una reforma desde una perspectiva de género? [en línea]. Barcelona: Bosch Penal, 255–283. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvq2w28r.12 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvq2w28r.12

Faraldo, P., 2022. Hacia un modelo comunicativo del consentimiento en el delito de violación. Jornada Justicia Penal, Géneros y Enseñanza del derecho. Buenos Aires: INECIP y Doctrina Penal Feminista, 65–88.

Foucault, M., 1972. The archaeology of knowledge, and the discourse on language. Nueva York: Pantheon Books.

Foucault, M., 1994. So is it important to think? En: J. Faubion, Power: Essential works of Foucault. Londres: Penguin. (Originalmente publicado en 1981).

Foucault, M., 2008. L’archéologie du savoir [en línea]. París: Gallimard. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.14375/NP.9782070119875 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14375/NP.9782070119875

Fraser, N., 1989. Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse, and Gender in Contemporary Social Theory. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Grant, I., y Benedet, J., 2022. The Meaning of Capacity and Consent in Sexual Assault: R. v. G.F. University of British Columbia, 70(1), 5–20.

Greer, G., 1970. The Female Eunuch. Londres: MacGibbon & Kee.

Haraway, D., 1988. Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective. Feminist Studies [en línea], 14(3), 575–599. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.2307/3178066 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3178066

Heim, D., 2010. El derecho como creados de identidades de género estigmatizantes y opresivas. En: D. Heim y E. Bodelón, eds., Derecho, género e igualdad. Barcelona: Grupo Antígona UAB, 175–189.

Hill Collins, P., 1990. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Boston: Unwin Hyman.

Hill Collins, P., y Bilge, S., 2019. Intersectionality. Cambridge: Polity Press. (Originalmente publicado en 2016).

hooks, b., 2020. ¿Acaso no soy yo una mujer? Mujeres negras y feminismo. Bilbao: Consonni. (Originalmente publicado en 1981).

Kelly, L., 1987. The Continuum of Sexual Violence. En: J. Hanmer y M. Maynard, eds., Violence and Social Control. Explorations in Sociology [en línea]. Londres: Palgrave Macmillan, 46–60. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18592-4_4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18592-4_4

Kelly, L., 1988. Surviving sexual violence. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Leverick, F., 2021. What do we know about rape myths and juror decision making? International Journal of Evidence & Proof [en línea], 24(3), 255–279. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1177/1365712720923157 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1365712720923157

Loizidou, E., 1999. The Trouble with Rape: Gender Matters and Legal “Transformations“. Feminist Legal Studies [en línea], 7(3), 257–297. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009297603439 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009297603439

MacKinnon, C., 1987. Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law. Londres: Harvard University Press. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.2307/2070528 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2070528

MacKinnon, C.A., 1989. Toward a Feminist Theory of the State. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

McGlynn, C., 2011. Feminism, Rape and the Search for Justice. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies [en línea], 31(4), 825–842. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1093/ojls/gqr025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ojls/gqr025

McGlynn, C., y Munro, V., 2010. Rethinking rape law: international and comparative perspectives [en línea]. Londres: Routledge. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203852194 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203852194

Millet, K., 1995. Sexual Politics. Urbana/Chicago: University of Illinois Press. (Originalmente publicado en 1970).

Mohanty, C., 2008. Bajo los ojos de occidente: academia feminista y discursos coloniales. En: L. Suárez Navaz y A. Hernández Castillo, Descolonizando el Feminismo: Teorías y Prácticas desde los Márgenes. Madrid: Cátedra, 117–164.

Munro, V., 2008. Constructing Consent: Legislating Freedom and Legitimation Constraint in the Expression of Sexual Autonomy. Akron Law Review, 41(4), 923–956.

Palmer, T., 2017. Distinguishing Sex from Sexual Violation: Consent, Negotiation and Freedom to Negotiate. En: A. Reed y M. Bohlander, eds., Consent: domestic and comparative perspectives. Londres: Routledge, 9–24.

Pateman, C., 1980. Women and consent. Political Theory [en línea], 8(2), 149–168. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1177/009059178000800202 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/009059178000800202

Peck, A.J., Berkowitz, D., y Tinkler, J., 2021. Left, right, Black, and White: how White college students talk about their inter- and intra- racial swiping preferences on Tinder. Sociological Spectrum [en línea], 41(4), 304-321. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2021.1916663 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2021.1916663

Pérez Hernández, Y., 2017. California define qué es “consentimiento sexual“. Sexualidad, Salud y Sociedad [en línea], 25(1), 113–133. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-6487.sess.2017.25.06.a DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-6487.sess.2017.25.06.a

Popova, M., 2019. Sexual Consent [en línea]. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/12108.001.0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/12108.001.0001

Schwendinger, J., y Schwendinger, H., 1983. Rape and inequality. Londres: Sage.

Serra, L., 2018. Populismo punitivo, o cómo se instrumentaliza el dolor de las víctimas. Pikara magazine [en línea], 8 de febrero. Disponible en: https://www.pikaramagazine.com/2018/02/populismo-punitivo-o-como-se-instrumentaliza-el-dolor-de-las-victimas/

Silvestrini, M., 2020. “It’s not something I can shake”: The Effect of Racial Stereotypes, Beauty Standards, and Sexual Racism on Interracial Attraction. Sexuality & Culture [en línea], 24, 305–325. Disponible en: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-019-09644-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09644-0

Smart, C., 1989. Feminism and the Power of Law. Londres: Routledge.

Smart, C., 1990. Law’s Power, the Sexed Body, and Feminist Discourse. Journal of Law and Society [en línea], 194–210. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.2307/1410085 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1410085

Subijana, I., y Asua, A. 2023. La Ley Orgánica 10/2022 a debate [en línea]. Presentación en la Mesa Redonda: Protección penal de la libertad sexual. Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU). 19 de mayo. Disponible en: https://ehutb.ehu.eus/video/646b87e6af19234d4d53ae2a

Wallin, L., et al., 2021. Capricious credibility-Legal assessments of voluntariness in Swedish negligent rape judgements. Nordic Journal of Criminology, 22(1), 3–22. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1080/2578983X.2021.1898128 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2578983X.2021.1898128

Weedon, C., y Hallak, A., 2021. Feminist poststructuralism: discourse, subjectivity, the body and power. En: J. Angouri y J. Baxter, eds., The Routledge Handbook of Language, Gender and Sexuality [en línea]. Londres/Nueva York: Routledge, 437–449. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315514857-35 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315514857-35

Wegerstad, L., 2021. Sex Must Be Voluntary: Sexual Communication and the New Definition of Rape in Sweden. German Law Journal [en línea], 22(5), 734–752. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1017/glj.2021.32 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/glj.2021.32

Williams, I., 2020. ¿Por qué tenemos que reevaluar el consentimiento en el contexto de la violencia sexual? Revista Multidisciplinar de Estudios de Género [en línea], 5(1), 152–155. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.20318/femeris.2020.5161 DOI: https://doi.org/10.20318/femeris.2020.5161

Published

13-11-2023 — Updated on 20-12-2023

How to Cite

Altuzarra, I. (2023) “Sexual consent in the Spanish Criminal Code: shadows of its political and legal construction through the Law on the Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 13(S1), pp. S318-S346. doi: 10.35295/osls.iisl.1799.