home l domestic violence | rape and sexual abuse | harassment | prostitution | homosexuals | birth control and abortion
heart and body | links, resources | professionals | questions, messages, answers | what's new ? | everything about sosfa | @

Imprimer cette page    

Rape is a crime
Other sexual aggressions are misdemeanors

The Law (2/8)

Rape

Any act of sexual penetration,

= this is what distinguishes rape from other aggressions.
of any nature, = meaning all sexual penetration: vaginal, anal (sodomy), oral (fellatio) or penetration with the hand or objects.
committed on another person, = a man, a woman, a child, known or unknown, belonging to the family or not. Extra-familial, incestuous, conjugal rape.

with violence, constraint, threat or surprise,

= means used by the aggressor to impose his will, with total disregard of the victim's consent. The absence of consent qualifies it as rape.
us a rape. Article 222.23 of the New Penal Code


A rape victim has 10 years to file a complaint.
After that, there is a statute of limitations (legal action is no longer possible).

If the rape was committed while the victim was a minor at the time of the act, the statute of limitations begins once the person is an adult and is prolonged to twenty years by law 2004-204 dated March 9, 2004 (it had previously been 10 years): the victim can this file complaint until a maximum age of 38 years old.

Rape is judged in district court.

 

OTHER SEXUAL AGGRESSIONS

It concerns sexual pain committed with violence, constraint, threat or surprise. They are not all precisely defined but concern for example attempted rape (without penetration), fondling, masturbation, taking photos or pornographic viewing under constraint. It can concern acts the aggressor does to his victim as well as acts the aggressor forces the victim to perform on him.

Sexual exhibition, imposed in view of others, in a public place, is also a misdemeanor.

Harassment with the goal of getting sexual favors by abusing authority given by one's position is also punished by law.

Sexual aggressions other than rape have a statute of limitations of three years.
However, if the victim was a minor at the time of the act, the statute of limitations begins once the person is an adult and is prolonged to ten years in the case of aggravating circumstances (see below).

Sexual aggressions other than rape are judged in Criminal Court

 

AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES

For rape and other sexual aggressions, aggravating circumstances are defined by the law, when the aggression is committed :

- on a minor under 15 years old
- on a person vulnerable due to: their age, an illness, an infirmity or a physical or mental deficiency or pregnancy
- by a legitimate ascendant, natural or adoptive (incest) or by any other person having authority over the victim
- by a person who abuses the authority that their position gives them
- with threats or use of a weapon
- by several people acting as the perpetrator or accomplice (eg. gang bang)
- and when the aggression is accompanied by torture or when it leads to mutilation, infirmity or death.

 

DEQUALIFICATION

Before a determination, when there is insufficient evidence, certain rapes are sometimes downgraded to "sexual aggressions", or even into "aggravated assault" and penalized (meaning before a criminal court judge instead of a district court judge).

Haut de la page

home l domestic violence | rape and sexual abuse | harassment | prostitution | homosexuals | birth control and abortion
heart and body | links, resources | professionals | questions, messages, answers | what's new ? | everything about sosfa | @