European Human Rights Court Backs French Woman Who Refused Sex With Husband: 'Not Marital Duty'
The woman claimed the French courts violated her physical integrity with an unjust intrusion into her private life.
A divorce case has sparked debates over women’s rights in France. Ms HW, a French woman, wanted to part ways with her husband, citing “threats of violence" as the reason. She had also refrained from physical intimacy since 2004 due to health problems. They tied the knot in 1984 and shared four children. When the woman filed the divorce petition, the French courts allegedly blamed her because she had not had sex with her husband.
Justice was finally served by Europe’s top human rights court which prioritised women’s rights over private and family life. “In the present case, the Court could not identify any reason capable of justifying this interference by the public authorities in the area of sexuality," the court said in a statement.
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HW decided to bring her case to the ECHR in 2021 almost a decade after her divorce. She claimed that the French courts violated her physical integrity with an unjust intrusion into her private life. The woman feels her victory will mark “a turning point in the fight for women’s rights in France."
Her lawyer, Lilia Mhissen, mentioned in a statement, “It is now imperative that France, like other European countries, such as Portugal or Spain, take concrete measures to eradicate this rape culture and promote a true culture of consent and mutual respect."
She hoped the ECHR’s decision would serve as a stern warning for French judges. “Courts will finally stop interpreting French law through the lens of canon law and imposing on women the obligation to have sexual relations within marriage," Mhissen added.
A source from the French government insisted that the authorities had been fighting against sexual violence for several years. The parliament has reportedly been working on a law that might re-evaluate the legal definition of rape.
French women’s activism groups have also shown their support for HW. One of their leaders said, “Ms. W spent 15 years fighting this battle and it ended in victory, bravo. When you are forced to have sexual relations in marriage, it is rape."
Another French woman, Gisele Pelicot, recently took the world by storm, revealing her story of sexual violence. Her husband was accused of drugging Perlicot and bringing other men to their home to rape her.
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