There and back again: Sex crime law reform and counter-reform in Spain

Abstract

In this article, I demonstrate how changes to Spanish criminal law produced a highly contradictory outcome, which constitutes the most astonishing volte-face in the recent history of the Spanish criminal justice system. I explain how a 2023 law reform, which changes the consent standard in rape cases, was a counter-reform, a backlash due to the political confluence between a disgruntled part of the feminist movement and the anti-gender conservative agenda. I argue that even a feminism that seeks more lenient penalties is susceptible to strong criticism that undermines its achievements. I offer a critical analysis of how, and under what circumstances, a gender-informed, feminist-inspired legal policy can be successfully challenged, questioning what ‘counts’ as rape and how it should be legally defined.