Home › Explained sheets › Rights and duties
The ban on sexual violence
This sheet explains fundamental rights and the ban on sexual violence. In France, this violence is forbidden, inside or outside a couple.
Key points of the sheet
- Sexual violence means acts committed with violence, coercion, threat or surprise. They concern an intimate part of the body: mouth, breasts, genitals, buttocks, thighs.
- Sexual harassment means imposing words or behaviour with a sexual or sexist meaning. Blackmail is also sexual harassment.
- Sexual assault is an imposed sexual act, without penetration. Sexual touching without consent is sexual assault.
- Rape is an act of sexual penetration imposed on another person. It is a serious crime (in French: crime).
- This violence harms the fundamental rights of the person. Nobody may impose an unwanted sexual act, including in a couple.
- In sexual violence, the victim has not given consent. Refusal can be expressed in particular by words, silences, attitudes or writing.
- Consent must be mutual: both partners approve any physical closeness. It can be expressed by words and/or actions. Silence is not consent.
- Consent is temporary: it can be given and then withdrawn. It concerns one act, not all acts. A person who cannot consent is refusing.
Words to know
- sexual violence (violence sexuelle)
- It means acts with violence, coercion, threat or surprise concerning an intimate part of the body.
- sexual harassment (harcèlement sexuel)
- It means imposing on a person words or behaviour with a sexual or sexist meaning.
- sexual assault (agression sexuelle)
- It is a sexual act without penetration, imposed by one person on another.
- rape (viol)
- It is an act of sexual penetration imposed on another person; it is a serious crime (in French: crime).
- consent (consentement)
- It is the agreement of both partners; silence is not consent, and it can be withdrawn.
Test yourself: 3 questions
What does a person's silence mean?
In French, the language of the exam: Le silence d'une personne, qu'est-ce que cela veut dire ?
The sheet says: silence is not consent.
What is an imposed sexual act without penetration?
In French, the language of the exam: Un acte sexuel imposé, sans pénétration, qu'est-ce que c'est ?
Sexual assault is a sexual act without penetration, imposed on another person.
A person is asleep. For a sexual act, what does their state mean?
In French, the language of the exam: Une personne dort. Pour un acte sexuel, que veut dire son état ?
A person who is not able to give consent, for example during sleep, is refusing.
You have read the sheet. See where you stand with 40 questions like the real exam.
Take the free mock exam (40 questions)Free mock exam · Exam Pass €19 incl. VAT, paid once, no subscription
More in this topic (Obligations and duties of people living in France)
- Adopting a respectful attitude towards the environment
- Obeying the law: the actors (2/2)
- Obeying the law: offences (1/2)
Source
Sheet “L'interdition des violences sexuelles” of the French Ministry of the Interior: formation-civique.interieur.gouv.fr. Content published under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0. This page is a plain-language adaptation made by Hexaciv, which is not an official site: if in doubt, the ministry's text is the one that counts.
Ministry sheet read on 23 October 2026, still identical on 25 October 2026.