France has officially moved to abolish the concept of “conjugal rights,” which previously implied a marital duty to engage in sexual relations. The National Assembly approved a significant bill on Wednesday, adding a clause to the civil code that clarifies “community of living” does not equate to an obligation for sexual relations. This legislative change aims to strengthen the legal framework against marital rape and eliminate ambiguity regarding consent within marriage.
The newly proposed law will also prevent the use of lack of sexual relations as grounds for fault-based divorce. Although legal experts suggest this change may not dramatically alter court outcomes, supporters believe it will serve as a deterrent against marital rape. Marie-Charlotte Garin, the bill’s sponsor and a member of the Green party, stated, “By allowing such a right or duty to persist, we are collectively giving our approval to a system of domination and predation by husband on wife.”
The move to clarify these definitions comes in response to historical interpretations of marriage that date back to medieval church law. While the French civil code has traditionally detailed marriage duties as “respect, fidelity, support, and assistance,” the notion of “conjugal duty” was never explicitly defined in legal texts. However, judges have occasionally interpreted the “community of living” concept to include sexual relations.
In a notable case from 2019, a woman was granted a divorce on fault-based grounds after her husband claimed she had withheld sex for several years. This case was later challenged in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which ruled against the use of marital consent as justification for divorce, marking a significant victory for women’s rights advocates.
Campaigners argue that the outdated notion of a wife’s duty to consent to sex persists in some segments of society and must be addressed. The Mazan trial of 2024 serves as a stark example. In this case, Gisèle Pelicot was drugged and raped by men invited by her husband, with several defendants claiming they believed she had consented based on her husband’s assertions.
In a broader context, marital rape was only recognized as a crime in France in 1990, allowing men to previously argue that marriage implied consent. Since November 2022, the legal definition of rape has been expanded to encompass non-consent, emphasizing that silence or lack of reaction cannot be interpreted as consent.
The approval of this bill reflects a growing recognition of individual autonomy within marriage and a commitment to addressing issues of consent and sexual violence. As France takes this step, it signals a shift in societal attitudes toward marital relationships, aiming to foster a culture of mutual respect and consent.
