PARIS – France announced a series of measures against sexual violence onWednesday, including on-the-spot fines for sexual harassment on the streetand extended deadlines for filing rape complaints.

President Emmanuel Macron has said the bill is meant to ensure “women arenot afraid to be outside”, after a wave of sexual assault allegationsleveled against men in the public eye around the world triggered a protestmovement online.

Under the legislation, which still needs to be approved by parliament,under-age victims of rape will have until they are aged 48 to file acomplaint, taking the deadline to 30 years after they turn 18, from 20 now.

The law will also set an age – 15 – under which one will be presumed not tohave agreed to having sex with someone aged 18 or more. This age of consentwill facilitate rape prosecutions, Gender Equality Minister MarleneSchiappa said.

Together with the age of consent, one of the most eye-catching aspects ofthe bill, whose main points have been publicly debated over the past fewmonths, has been the plan to punish sexual harassment on the street withfines.

Schiappa said the fines, to be paid on the spot by offenders, would rangefrom 90 euros to 750 euros. They could reach 1,500 euros in the case ofaggravating circumstances and 3,000 euros for repeat offenders.

“It is crucial that the laws of the republic make it clear that it is notallowed to harass or intimidate women … whether in the public space, onpublic transport or online,” Schiappa told a news conference. “There can beno lawless zones.”

The law has wide popular backing, an Ifop opinion poll showed. AGENCIES