‘Focus on perpetrators’: Rape law based on consent ‘would be a distraction, place burden on victim’

As the French Parliament debates adding the notion of consent to the penal code, Genie Godula welcomes Cécile SIMMONS, Researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Her focus is on misogyny and gender-based violence. Ms. Simmons is Author of “Ctrl Hate Delete: The New Anti-Feminist Backlash and How We Fight It”. As it stands, the rate of prosecution stands at 5%, she explains, and “the victims will see the abusers walk free.” Ms. Simmons warns that “by shifting to a consent-based definition, we will censor the victim and place the burden of proving violence on the victim.” She sees it as a “distraction” and asserts that it will be much more effective to “focus on the perpetrators.”