A French woman who stopped having sex with her husband was vindicated this week by Europe's highest court of human rights, which ruled that he could not be held liable for the divorce.
The European Court of Human Rights said on Thursday that a 69-year-old woman's decision to respect her private life and family rights had been violated after a French court found a 69-year-old woman liable for the divorce for defying her marital obligations. The verdict was unanimous. the court said in a news release.
The decision, which prevents French judges from issuing similar divorce judgments regarding sexual relations in the future, comes at a time when France is debating the concept of consent for rape laws.
“We hope this decision marks a turning point in the fight for women's rights in France,” the woman, who identified herself as HW, said in a statement. CBS News After almost a decade of legal battles.
“This victory is for all women, like me, who face extraordinary and unjust court decisions that call into question their bodily integrity and right to privacy.”
The mother of four, who lives in Chesnay, near Paris, filed for divorce in 2012 after 28 years of marriage, citing health problems and her husband as reasons for ceasing all sexual relations in 2004. He cited threats of violence from. According to the lawsuit.
The woman challenged the grounds on which the divorce was granted and filed a complaint with the Court of Appeal in Versailles in 2019, which ruled in her husband's favor.
France's highest court, the Court of Cassation, later rejected her appeal without explanation.
She filed the case with the Strasbourg-based ECHR in 2021.
“It was impossible for me to accept it and leave it alone,” the woman told CBS News.
“The Court of Appeal's decision to convict me, denying me the right to consent to sexual relations and depriving me of the freedom to make decisions about my own body, has no place in a civilized society. The right of husbands and all spouses to enforce their will has been strengthened.”
In its ruling, the court emphasized that parties who consent to marriage do not have to have sex with each other, suggesting that it may deny marital rape as a serious crime.
“The Court concluded that the very existence of such a marriage obligation violates the right to sexual freedom, bodily autonomy, and the affirmative preventive obligations of States parties in the context of combating domestic and sexual violence.” said the ECHR in a statement. .
In response to the ruling, French Justice Minister Gerard Darmanin said authorities would now work to adapt the country's laws. NBC News reported.
