The ECHR unanimously ruled in favor of the woman, identified only as Ms. H.W, determining that the original decision in the French courts infringed upon a European human rights law, specifically the right to respect private and family life.
This decision concluded nearly a decade-long legal battle, with Ms. H.W noting it as a significant step toward dismantling ‘rape culture’ and bolstering the concept of consent within marriage.
In their judgment, the ECHR expressed: “The Court cannot accept, as the Government suggest, that consent to marriage implies consent to future sexual relations. Such a justification would be liable to deprive marital rape of its reprehensible character.”
“The Court has long held that the idea that a husband cannot be prosecuted for the rape of his wife is unacceptable and that it is contrary not only to a civilised notion of marriage but also and above all to the fundamental objectives of the Convention, the very essence of which is respect for human dignity and freedom. In the Court’s view, consent must reflect the free will to have a particular sexual relationship, at the time it occurs and having regard to its circumstances.”
The woman, residing in Le Chesnay near Paris, shares four children with her former spouse. The couple wed in 1984, but after 28 years, she sought a divorce in 2012.
Their marital troubles began shortly after the birth of their first child in 1992, and by 2002, her husband allegedly began abusing her both physically and verbally.
In 2004, she decided to stop having sexual relations with him.
During the divorce proceedings, she was awarded the family home in 2013, and her husband was required to leave the premises.
Two years later, she initiated divorce proceedings on the grounds of fault, alleging that her husband had prioritized his career over their family life and had exhibited ‘irascible, violent and hurtful’ behavior.