France voted to outlaw sexual harassment on the streets, leaving cat-callers and aggressively lecherous individuals facing potential on-the-spot fines of up to 750 euros as part of tougher legislation to fight sexual violence.

Lawmakers approved the law in a second reading late on Wednesday, days after outrage erupted in France after a man attacked a young woman, Marie Laguerre, when she responded to lewd noises he made at her outside a Paris cafe.

“Harassment in the street has previously not been punished. From now on, it will be,” Marlene Schiappa, gender equality minister and architect of the new legislation, told Europe 1 radio on Thursday.

An early draft of the bill had said that minors under 15 would be assumed not to have given consent to sex with an older person. But the new law states that sex between an adult and a person of 15 or under can be considered rape if the younger party was judged not competent to give consent.

France’s highest legal authority, the Conseil d’Etat, had advised that the previous version could be ruled unconstitutional.

The legislation will also give underage victims of rape an extra ten years to file complaints, extending the deadline to 30 years from when they turn 18.

Some critics say the harassment measures will mark an end to French romance. Schiappa last year told Reuters the government was not looking to stamp out flirtatious behaviour and “kill the culture of the ‘French lover'”.

“What’s key is … that the laws of the French republic forbid insulting, intimidating, threatening and following women in public spaces,” Schiappa said on Thursday.

Schiappa said France needed to stop tolerating sexual harassment and violence like the attack on Laguerre last week. Laguerre, 22, was punched by a passer by when she told him to “shut up” after he wolf-whistled at her.

Laguerre has received praise from the French public and abroad for her courage in standing up to her aggressor. She has created a website ‘Nous Toutes Harcelement’ (We are all harassed) for other victims of sexual harassment to recount their stories.

Having worked with about 4,000 individuals in the last 3 years, there are times when a case is shocking and we were contacted by a Muslim family who were humiliated after spending a few hours at the seaside. This is their story and highlights a growing trend towards aggressive threats made to individuals who are visibly Muslim.

The incident was reported in by Jamila, (name has been changed), and Jamila had visited a seaside resort in Kent with her husband and her husband’s brother and his wife and family.

After a few hours of walking by the seaside with the children, they returned back to their vehicle and Jamila’s husband and his brother used the public toilet attached to the cafe near to the vehicle. Both of the men complained when they came out of the public lavatory, that the state of it was unfit for the children to use.

As the family stood by the vehicle, (putting away their bags), a group of 3 white males approached the family from the cafe and accused the men of ‘dirtying’ the public toilets. They also accused the Muslim males of having been caught on CCTV and became aggressive when they were being ignored. They also used abusive language in front of Jamila’s children and to reduce the stress and aggression towards the family, Jamila’s husband and her brother walked away towards the cafe and were followed by the 3 males.

Some time elapsed and when Jamila went into the cafe looking for her husband and his brother, she was met with anti-Muslim comments and statements from women who were in the cafe. Jamila was confronted with comments which included, “you dirty Muslims,” and “you filthy Muslims.” The abuse continued as one of the women charged towards Jamila, who moved out of the way, and she was subsequently pushed by one of the women who was wearing an apron. Jamila believed that the female worked in the cafe.

Jamila’s husband saw the assault on her and came to her aid though he was followed by the 3 white males who began abusing the couple again. To ensure that his wife was safe, Jamila’s husband walked her to the car and when threatened again by the males, decided to clean up the toilet so as to put an end to the threats and the stress of the situation.

After the incident, Jamila’s husband complained that he had been pushed and spat at in the toilet area when he was cleaning it up and the males continued to be threatening towards him. He also complained of the humiliation that he suffered and which the family believe came about, because of anti-Muslim hatred.

We within TELL MAMA have made contact with Kent Police and we are chasing this case up given the severity of what took place. Such behaviour must and should be challenged and we will keep you informed as to the outcome of this case.

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