Thousands protest across Spain after men cleared of raping unconscious 14-year-old girl: ‘People are raging’

Thousands descended on the streets of Spain to show their opposition to a verdict which saw five men accused of gang-raping a 14-year-old cleared of the charge because she was in an “unconscious state”.

The Barcelona High Court convicted the men who took turns having sex with the child in a disused factory in a town called Manresa in the north-eastern region of Catalonia of a lesser offence of sexual abuse, rather than rape – because she was not conscious during the incident, and the perpetrators did not use violence or intimidation.

Rape is defined in Spanish law as involving specific acts of violence, such as being punched, hit or threatened with a weapon.

The court’s verdict, which the men reportedly intend to appeal, has rekindled long-standing anger surrounding the country’s laws, and protests took place in more than 40 cities across the country on Monday night.

Many demonstrators, the majority of whom were women, wore purple scarves or held purple umbrellas. The colour purple is linked to feminist movements across the world and can often be glimpsed during protests.

Posters which said “It’s not abuse, it’s rape” could be seen in the crowds and the hashtag #EnoughPatriarchalJustice gained increasing traction on social media.

Cecilia Gomez, a women’s rights activist in Barcelona, voiced fury about the verdict and said women in the country were “raging” over it.

“The verdict is more than upsetting. It is absolutely horrific,” Ms Gomez, who is part of Women’s March Barcelona, told The Independent.

“How can we talk about a situation where a 14-year-old girl was unconscious as not being rape? I do not understand how that could be something that is contemplated by the law. The assumption is that she is agreeing to sex because she cannot protest.”

The campaigner added: “It is unacceptable and unconscionable that this would be the verdict. She was also a child. She is too young to be able to consent to sexual relations in the first place. The number one law that needs to change in Spain is that sexual contact needs to happen with express consent.

“The protests are absolutely necessary and are the only thing which are going to change the needle on this. People are raging.”

The court said the victim, who previously told the court that one of the men had a gun, was drunk and unconscious during the incident and “could not accept or reject the sexual relations”.

Barcelona’s High Court sentenced the five men to ten to 12 years in jail – considerably less time than a conviction for rape, which would have carried a sentence of between 15 and 20 years.

“The attack on the victim’s sexual integrity was extremely severe and especially denigrating and what’s more, was against a minor in a situation of distress,” the judge said.

Ada Colau, the mayor of Barcelona, tweeted: “Another outrageous sentence. [The judge] doesn’t want to understand that only YES is YES,”

The case has become known as the “Manada de Manresa”, or Manresa wolf pack, because of the parallels it shares with another 2016 gang attack on a teenage woman which sparked national protests and an ongoing review of the country’s rape laws. The men called themselves La Manada – “the wolf pack”.

Headway on changing the rape laws in Spain has been stalled by wider political gridlock in the country despite mounting anger about the issue.