French divorcee who stopped having sex with husband wins appeal at European court

Reuters - 23/01
A woman, who was blamed by French courts for her divorce because she no longer had sex with her husband, has won an appeal in Europe's top human rights court, the court said on Thursday, reigniting a debate in France over women's rights.
  • ECHR rules French court violated woman's rights in divorce case
  • Ruling may impact future French divorce law, says lawyer Mhissen
  • Case highlights ongoing debates on women's rights in France
PARIS, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A woman, who was blamed by French courts for her divorce because she no longer had sex with her husband, has won an appeal in Europe's top human rights court, the court said on Thursday, reigniting a debate in France over women's rights.
The French woman - identified as Ms H.W, born in 1955 - brought her case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2021 after exhausting legal avenues in France almost a decade following the divorce.
The ECHR ruled that the French courts had violated the woman's right to respect for private and family life.
"In the present case, the Court could not identify any reason capable of justifying this interference by the public authorities in the area of sexuality," it said in a statement.
The ECHR ruling comes amid a period of soul-searching in France after the high-profile case of Gisele Pelicot, whose husband was found guilty of drugging his wife and inviting dozens of men over to their home to rape her. The case shocked the world, rekindled thorny debates about women's rights in France and turned Gisele Pelicot into a feminist icon.
In a statement released b...
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