The expression "rebound effect" that is used so much in other areas may end up being applied to the legal field, in particular to the law of only yes is yes. The proposal put forward by ERC and EH Bildu to tweak the sentences, which Podemos welcomes, would mean that a law that has led to the reduction of hundreds of sentences for sexual offenders ends up imposing even tougher sentences than those foreseen before it came into force. valid six months ago.
The amendments registered in Congress by the two formations propose an alternative to the PSOE's bill to return the penalties to the same figures as before the reform promoted by the Ministry of Equality. The formula is to leave the crimes as they are currently formulated, but introducing the use of violence or intimidation as an aggravating factor.
When it occurs, the fork of penalties will rise, to the point that it will exceed the one that existed before the yes is yes. In the event that this reform goes ahead, the law supported by Irene Montero will have had the double effect of softening previous sentences and hardening future ones.
With the new proposal, rapes -which are penetrative sexual assaults- would have a minimum sentence of seven years, the highest since the current Penal Code was approved in 1995. For decades, the minimum was six years, a figure that with the yes is yes dropped to four, which caused a large part of the sentence reviews of the last six months. The PSOE proposal contemplates returning to the minimum of six years.
The maximum penalty for rape would also be tougher. The 12-year limit in force since 1995, which even the yes is yes law maintained, would go up to 15 when physical violence or intimidation occurred.
The other less serious category of sexual assault, the one that does not include penetration, also suffers increased penalties, not only with respect to the yes is yes, but also with respect to the previous law. When the aggravating factor of violence or intimidation is applied, the possible sentence would range from two to eight years. Until now, the minimum has always been one year and the maximum four (with yes is yes) or five (before the reform).
Finally, the penalties to be imposed for assaults on minors under 16 years of age -the age of sexual consent- would also rise. Again, not only recovering the penalties prior to yes is yes, but overcoming them. The minimum for a violation would go from 12 years to 12 and a half. When there was no penetration, the minimum would jump from five years to seven and a half. The highs have always been the same.
This tightening of sentences was the reason why the PSOE argued to reject the option of introducing violence or intimidation as an aggravating factor. When the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, ordered that the penalties be toughened again by the social alarm due to the sentence reductions, this route was one of those raised by the Ministry of Justice from Equality. Minister Pilar Llop opposed it, stating that her practical result was "a disproportionate punitive exaggeration" in less serious sexual crimes.
The focus of Podemos when it comes to reforming its own law has not been on the penalties, but on the fact that the reintroduction of violence or intimidation when calculating the sentence does not imply blurring the central role of consent. Using the aggravating factor means maintaining violence as an external element to the crime, which is consistent with this thesis. On the contrary, the option of the PSOE to include it in the nucleus of the crime -as an aggravated subtype- gives violence or intimidation a relevance very similar to that of consent. That is the interpretation made by Podemos, ERC and Bildu, which the PSOE denies.
When on Holy Thursday the two pro-independence formations brought their amendments to the Justice Commission, the two main voices of Podemos in this area echoed it. Both Minister Montero and the Government delegate against Gender Violence, Victoria Rosell, incorporated the news into their social networks.
The Socialists plan to take their proposal to reform the law of yes is yes to the plenary session on April 20. By then, they will have had to decide whether to keep their text and push it forward with the support of the PP or join the output that ERC and Bildu offer Podemos.
Whichever version is approved, none will stop the sentence reductions for crimes already committed. The hardening of penalties would only apply to sexual assaults committed after its entry into force.
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