Overview

• Ministers cleared an organic law draft that creates a specific Penal Code offense for vicarious violence under a new Article 173 bis, carrying prison terms of six months to three years and a higher range of one and a half to three years in aggravated cases.
• The bill adds an accessory penalty barring those convicted from publishing or disseminating materials related to their case to prevent revictimization.
• Civil Code changes require judges to hear minors and adults with disabilities before ruling on custody or visitation where gender violence is alleged, and to more robustly justify any continued contact with an accused or convicted parent.
• Recognition of victims expands beyond minors to include adult children, parents, siblings and a woman’s current or former partners, a move the government presents as a first in Europe.
• More than 100 judges from gender‑violence courts warn of an imminent workload crunch as they take on, from 3 October, sexual offenses outside intimate relationships, trafficking, forced marriages and FGM, while the Justice Ministry cites 50 new judicial posts, 42 prosecutors and temporary reinforcements with 13 requests already authorized.