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The Supreme Court of Spain has ruled kissing the hand of a woman without her consent is sexual assault.
The landmark ruling confirms any non-consensual contact with sexual intent, even in absence of violence or threat.
The judgement relates to an incident on January 10, 2023, when a man approached a woman waiting at a bus stop on Avenida de España in Madrid.
According to established facts, the man kissed her hand, gestured to her to follow him, and offered money.
READ MORE: Watch a man arrested in Madrid for sexually assaulting an female journalist live on Spanish television
The man is reported to have repeated this behavior twice in the encounter.
The Criminal Court number 25 of Madrid initially sentenced him to a fine of €1,620 for a minor sexual assault offence.
The Audiencia Provincial de Madrid later confirmed this verdict.
The man who was convicted appealed his case to the Supreme Court arguing that he should have been classified as street harassment and not sexual assault.
He said there was no abuse of authority, violence or intimidation and that the incident occurred in broad daylight in a public place.
He continued to argue that the victim had not expressed that her sexual liberties were violated. Instead, he suggested that the act was merely annoying and did no harm.
The Supreme Court, however, rejected this argument. It stated that physical contact was the main factor in determining whether an assault or harassment occurred.
The judges made it clear that street harassment is no longer considered an offence if there has been any non-consensual touch.
The court made a distinction in law between external acts, such as gestures or comments, and physical contact with a victim’s body.
Read more: shocking statistics show that a quarter of girls aged between 14 and 17 years old were sexually assaulted or harassed in Spain last Year.
The court ruled that any form of touching, such as holding or kissing the hand, is an intrusion and a person does not have to tolerate it without consent.
The judges stressed the need for consent to any act involving sexual contact.
They said that this behaviour had a sexual element, particularly because it was accompanied with a proposition.
But the decision was not unanimous. There were two dissenting judges.
They claimed that the act was not sexual in nature, but rather akin to old-fashioned forms of greetings or courtesy.
The majority decision sets a precedent for Spanish law in regards to consent and physical contact.
The case should influence the way similar incidents will be prosecuted, particularly when it comes to distinguishing between assault and harassment.
Legal experts believe that the decision confirms a stricter understanding of consent in Spain’s laws on sexual freedom.
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