Court: Kissing a Woman’s Hand Is Sexual Assault

Spain’s Supreme Court has ruled that a person who kisses another person’s hand without their consent can constitute sexual assault. However, not all judges agreed with the decision.

The case concerns a man who, in 2023, approached a woman at a bus stop in the Spanish capital Madrid and kissed her hand. The man is also said to have made gestures suggesting she should accompany him and that he would pay her.

The man was convicted of sexual assault and fined, with the verdict upheld by Madrid’s provincial court. He appealed to the Supreme Court, admitting that the woman “may have felt disturbed, offended, a victim of an intrusion into her safety zone,” but claimed there was never “any clear risk to her sexual integrity.”

The man also pointed out that the incident took place in a public location, near a police station and in broad daylight. At most, his actions could have constituted the lesser offense of sexual harassment in a public place, his legal team argued.

The Supreme Court ruled, however, that the event amounted to more than just harassment and maintained there was “a clear sexual component because he even kissed [her hand].” The court added that a woman “cannot be expected to tolerate a man taking her hand and kissing her without consent in acts that carry a clear and evident sexual connotation.”

Two Dissenting Voices

Two magistrates issued dissenting opinions, arguing that the incident did not constitute sexual assault.

“A kiss (or two) on someone else’s hand is, in our culture, a form of greeting, albeit now outdated,” they maintained.

They added that such acts—along with kissing someone on the cheek or shaking hands—”are not acts of a sexual nature.”

The issue of sexual consent has been a topic of intense debate in Spain in recent years.

The Spanish “only yes means yes” law is based on a simple idea: sex is only legal if both parties actively and voluntarily say yes. Silence or passivity is not enough. The law shifts the focus from the victim’s behavior to the perpetrator’s responsibility, making consent the central issue in all sexual offenses.

The reform abolished the previous distinction between different types of sexual crimes, under which violence or threats previously had to be proven for something to be considered rape. Instead, everything falls under a common criminal classification, where the circumstances—not the victim’s resistance—determine the severity of the crime. This makes the legal system more consistent and reduces the risk of victims falling between legal categories.

The law also includes social and institutional reforms. It strengthens support for persons subjected to sexual violence, for instance by improving access to assistance and requiring training within the justice sector. The aim is to create a society where both legislation and authorities make it clear that sexual violence can never be excused and that consent must always be clearly expressed.