The decision of the Spanish Socialists (PSOE) not to wait any longer and go to the Congress of Deputies with a bill to modify the 'Only yes means yes' law, prepared by the equality ministry run by junior coalition partner Unidas Podemos, is aimed at applying a tourniquet to the constant bleed of criticism over the judicial interpretation and consequent reductions in penalties for rapists. Three months have had to go by before the PSOE - and thus, the Spanish government - has been moved to action to amend a law which, far from fully responding to the legislator's objective, has turned into a veritable expressway to reduced prison sentences for sex offenders, with the consequent social alarm produced.
Despite the Podemos response of interpreting this criticism as an attack on the party - hence also its resistance to carrying out this modification - there have been few cases in which its position has been so fragile. Probably, it did not have the best advisors and failed to take into account the need to limit the judicial interpretation that was made, which has allowed more than 330 rapists to reduce their sentences since the entry into force of the law, while for 23 it has meant their actual release from prison. If we go back to last October, which was when the Provincial Audiences began with a slow trickle of sentence reductions, the slowness of the response is worrying, since the passage of time has only amplified the problem and caused a public debate like few others in recent times, with participation from lawyers but also from those affected.
In fact, it is very likely that if the ministry had not been in the hands of the junior partner, the reform would not have taken so long. The PSOE has tiptoed into the subject so as not to strain the coalition government more than necessary. That was the reason for the time granted for Podemos to rectify publicly, and since that hasn't happened, the Socialists have chosen to take a middle way and have handed the job of rectification to the justice ministry. The objective will be twofold: to return to the situation of the previous legislation regarding penalty levels, which will increase when there is violence or intimidation, and to maintain the basis of the law in the need for the woman to give consent, in contrast with situations of violence or intimidation.
The question of consent is not a minor issue, but one that is absolutely central to the new approach taken by the 'Only yes means yes' law. Any step back on this issue could indeed open a Pandora's box between the PSOE and Unidas Podemos, as well as placing Pedro Sánchez in a difficult position with respect to feminist collectives. Nothing suggests that that will happen, despite the warnings expressed by the junior coalition partner, since there is room to combine both things. If it wasn't so, it would mean a step back. The support from PP leader Feijóo for the Socialist plans undoubtedly puts pressure on Unidas Podemos, which in the final stretch of the legislature cannot lose its star project. It's also a problem for Sánchez, who has to strike a balance not only in his government, but in terms of avoiding a Unidas Podemos collapse at the polls, since the Socialists need a political space on their left that is capable of winning close to 40 seats in Congress if they want to keep any options of staying in power.