Government crisis over sex crimes worsens in Spain Portuguese Catholic Church apologizes to at least 5,000 abuse victims

The dispute over the new sexual criminal law has ultimately driven a wedge between the parties of Spain’s left-wing governing coalition. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) will introduce the new reform of the controversial “Only yes is yes” law that came into effect just five months ago without the support of junior partner Unidas Podemos (UP). The conservative and right-wing populist opposition will support the PSOE in Madrid’s lower house vote on Tuesday to launch the reform process, media reported over the weekend.

The new law has had both unexpected and unwanted effects, including the early release of sex offenders. “The problem is so serious that any of the 350 votes is welcome,” said the chair of the House of Commons Equality Committee, PSOE politician and former deputy prime minister Carmen Calvo in an interview with state television channel RTVE on Sunday.

The UP, meanwhile, fears that the PSOE could give in to the demands of the conservative opposition and accept a return to the old way of life in the upcoming debates on the new law reform: “We do not want a return to a patriarchal system where victims were asked if their legs were tightly closed,” said UP’s Equality Minister, Irene Montero, for example.

Montero is the “mother” of the new rules

Montero is considered the “mother” of the new rules – which not only provided for higher maximum sentences, but also lower minimum sentences in some cases. As a result, judges have since reduced the sentences of more than 700 prisoners. More than 70 sex offenders were released earlier than expected, including a 39-year-old man in Lleida, Catalonia, who raped 17 women and had his sentence reduced from 15 to 9 years.

“The law has had a number of undesirable effects in its application. Side effects are an understatement,” says Sánchez. Several PSOE politicians, meanwhile, have dismissed UP’s fears, claiming that there would be no deviation from the principle of consent of all parties involved in sexual acts.

Among other things, the new law criminalizes ‘intimidating’ compliments and the distribution of sex videos. With its initiative, the government responded to several cases of gang rape last year, with the perpetrators getting away with relatively light sentences. Montero had said that “rape culture” would end. (sda/dpa)