A French woman who stopped having sex with her husband has won a ruling from Europe's highest human rights court stating that she should not be blamed for their divorce.
The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday sided with the 69-year-old, saying courts should not consider refusal to engage in sexual relations as grounds for fault in divorce.
The unanimous decision concluded that France had violated its right to respect for private and family life under European human rights law, ending a legal dispute that had lasted for almost a decade.
The French woman, known as Madame HW, celebrated the decision as a step forward in ending “rape culture” and promoting consent in marriage.
The case sparked debate about attitudes toward marital consent and women's rights in France. Lilia Moheisen, HW's lawyer, said the decision dismantled the outdated concept of “marital duty” and called on French courts to align with modern views on consent and equality.
Women's rights groups supporting HW said French judges continue to impose an “outdated vision of marriage”, perpetuating harmful stereotypes.
HW, who lives in Le Chesnay near Paris, married her husband JC in 1984. They had four children, including a disabled daughter who required constant care, a responsibility HW shouldered.
Their marital relations deteriorated after the birth of their first child, and by 1992, the father began to suffer from health problems. In 2002, her husband began physically and verbally abusing her. Two years later, she stopped having sex with him and filed for divorce in 2012.
The woman did not object to the divorce she requested either, but she objected to the reasons on which it was granted.
In 2019, the Versailles Court of Appeal rejected her complaints and ruled in favor of her husband. Later, the Court of Cassation, the highest court in France, rejected her appeal without explanation. She then took her case to the European Court of Human Rights in 2021.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that governments should intervene in matters such as sexuality only for very serious reasons. She stated that the idea of “marital duties” in French law ignores the importance of consent in sexual relations.
The court stressed that consent to marriage does not mean consent to have sex in the future. To suggest otherwise would effectively deny that marital rape is a serious crime, the ruling said.
The ruling comes amid growing interest in consent in France, following the high-profile trial of Dominique Bellico, who drugged his wife and invited men to rape her. Bellico and the 50 men involved were convicted last month, and the case has raised concerns about how French law deals with the issue of consent.
Feminist groups say the European Court of Human Rights' ruling reinforces the need to update French laws and cultural attitudes.
A recent French Parliament report recommended including the concept of lack of consent in the legal definition of rape, stating that consent must be free and can be withdrawn at any time.
