PARIS, Sept 26: A man has been jailed for three months for slapping a woman’s bottom in Paris. In a first under a new catcalling law, he was also fined for making lewd remarks about her body.
The individual was reportedly under the influence of alcohol when he slapped the 21-year-old’s bottom on a crowded bus and made an insulting comment about her breasts. The outraged bus driver refused to open the doors until police arrived to arrest the man.
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The man, who’s in his 30s, was sentenced to three months in prison for the sexually aggressive action by a judge in Evry, south of Paris, and fined €300 for the offensive comment.
The fine was the first to be imposed under France’s new legislation aimed at deterring predatory remarks and harassing wolf-whistles which have become a daily occurrence for women. The harassment law also allows for on-the-spot fines of up to €750.
The gender equality minister who was instrumental in bringing the law to fruition, Marlène Schiappa, hailed the court’s decision on Twitter: “Bravo for the bus driver’s quick-wittedness and the penalty imposed.”
Calls for women to be legally protected from harassment reached fever point in Paris after video footage emerged of a woman being viciously attacked by a random man after she told him to “shut up” because he wolf-whistled at her.
The High Council for Equality between Women and Men says that 100 percent of women claim they have been harassed on public transport at least once – the harassment ranging from dirty looks to sexual assault and rape – and in over 50 percent of the cases, they say the first act of aggression happened before they turned 18.
