European Court Rules Against Marital Fault in Divorce for Refusing Sex

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that a woman who refuses sexual relations with her husband should not be held "at fault" in divorce proceedings. This ruling came in response to a case involving a 69-year-old French woman, identified only as HW, whose husband obtained a divorce citing her refusal to engage in sexual relations as the sole reason.

The court unanimously stated that this interpretation violated the woman's right to respect for her private and family life, as outlined in the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECHR emphasized that consent must be the foundation of sexual relations within marriage and that any expectation of sexual obligation undermines the principles of bodily autonomy and sexual freedom.

HW had been married since 1984 and had four children, one of whom required constant care. The woman's health deteriorated in the 1990s, and by 2004, after enduring physical and verbal abuse from her husband, she ceased sexual activity. Although she also sought a divorce in 2012, she contested the grounds on which her husband obtained the divorce.

The ECHR noted that French domestic courts failed to find a fair balance between the parties' rights and interests, criticizing the archaic views of marriage that some judges still hold. Women's rights groups in France have expressed support for the court ruling, stating that marriage should not imply an obligation for sexual servitude.