2 years in prison in France for "glancing" at a woman

[renard_ruse]

Is France the most repressive anti-male country on earth?

Under their "sex harrassment" "law" its a crime to "look a woman up and down." This is not just at a workplace but anywhere. Its punishable by a two year prison sentence and a huge fine.

Micromanaging daily life is not unusual in France of course. The country has outlawed public wearing of any items of clothing which identify one as a member of a particular religious group.

France makes 21st century USA look like a free country. That's scary.

 

[imalickin]

Well when you surrender at the drop of a hat, what else would you expect?

 

[oggbashan]

...

Micromanaging daily life is not unusual in France of course. The country has outlawed public wearing of any items of clothing which identify one as a member of a particular religious group.

France makes 21st century USA look like a free country. That's scary.

No it hasn't. It has banned clothing that covers the face and make identification impossible. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ban_on_face_covering

Ski masks and balaclavas are banned as well as burqas and niqabs.

 

[oggbashan]

Is France the most repressive anti-male country on earth?

Under their "sex harrassment" "law" its a crime to "look a woman up and down." This is not just at a workplace but anywhere. Its punishable by a two year prison sentence and a huge fine.

...

France makes 21st century USA look like a free country. That's scary.

You are wrong. Sexual harrassment HAD a different definition.

You are out of date - again. That law was set aside over a year ago.

France

Until May 4, 2012, article 222-33 of the French Criminal Code described sexual harassment as, "The fact of harassing anyone in order to obtain favors of a sexual nature...". Since 2002, it recognized the possibility of sexual harassment between co-workers and not only by supervisors. On May 4, 2012, the http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr (French supreme Court) quashed the definition of the criminal code as being too vague. The 2012 decision resulted from a law on priority preliminary rulings on the issue of constitutionality. As a consequence to this decision, all pending procedures before criminal courts are cancelled. Several feminists NGO, such as AFVT criticized this decision. A new law should be voted rapidly according to the declarations of the President François Hollande, the Minister of Justice (Christine Taubira) and the Minister of Equality (Najat Belkacem). In addition to criminal provisions, the French labor code also prohibits sexual harassment. The legislator voted a law in 2008 that copied the 2002/73/EC Directive definition without modifying the French Labour Code.

 

[rosco rathbone]

A couple of months ago I did some structural work on a big corporate training center owned by one of the largest energy multinationals in the world.

After the usual safety orientation at the beginning of the job we were told to wait for a talk from the director of security.

He came out and informed us barbarian construction workers that due to complaints, they had implemented a so called "three second rule". Any workers caught harassing the local corporate females would be summarily removed from the job site. We were told to use a rule of thumb: don't look at any woman continually for more than three seconds. Catcalling and things of that nature were of course totally out of bounds.

There was a weird Morlock/Eloi vibe to that place, which was a gorgeous former estate overlooking the Hudson. All these stunning yuppie babes in tight skirts travelling in packs through the award-winning landscaping, en route to seminars on this and that, pretending that we dirty construction workers didn't exist, and we, staring hungrily, at the risk of our very livelihoods.

 

[renard_ruse]

You are wrong. Sexual harrassment HAD a different definition.

You are out of date - again. That law was set aside over a year ago.

France

Until May 4, 2012, article 222-33 of the French Criminal Code described sexual harassment as, "The fact of harassing anyone in order to obtain favors of a sexual nature...". Since 2002, it recognized the possibility of sexual harassment between co-workers and not only by supervisors. On May 4, 2012, the http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr (French supreme Court) quashed the definition of the criminal code as being too vague. The 2012 decision resulted from a law on priority preliminary rulings on the issue of constitutionality. As a consequence to this decision, all pending procedures before criminal courts are cancelled. Several feminists NGO, such as AFVT criticized this decision. A new law should be voted rapidly according to the declarations of the President François Hollande, the Minister of Justice (Christine Taubira) and the Minister of Equality (Najat Belkacem). In addition to criminal provisions, the French labor code also prohibits sexual harassment. The legislator voted a law in 2008 that copied the 2002/73/EC Directive definition without modifying the French Labour Code.

No, you are out of date. They passed a new law in July 2012 which went far beyond the old law that was thrown out. It does include "glancing up and down" and "staring" as a criminal offense with up to two years in prison.

 

[Super-Surprise]

 

[oggbashan]

Yes. I am out of date but the old law was capable of wider use than the new - IF it had worked.

While some English language commentators have suggested severe interpretation, the new law is actually less punitive and wide-ranging than the old. But it is much clearer:

Link to advice in English