Concòrdia Proposes 20 Amendments to Toughen Andorra's Criminal Code on Sex Crimes

The parliamentary group Concòrdia has submitted around 20 amendments to the government's Criminal Code reform bill, aiming to strengthen protections against sexual offenses, particularly for minors, while proposing a graduated age of sexual consent at 18 with mitigating factors based on age differences.

Concòrdia supports raising the age of consent from 14 to 18 years across all cases, rejecting the government's automatic criminalization for age gaps of five years or more. Instead, consellera general Núria Segués outlined a system of attenuating circumstances: closer ages, such as a two-year gap, would face lighter penalties, while larger differences would lead to harsher ones. The group sets 12 as the minimum threshold for penal intervention and classifies any sexual act with children under 10 as rape. It also calls for higher minimum sentences for rape and aggravating factors in cases involving power imbalances, such as workplace harassment.

The amendments divide into four blocks. The first centers on consent, defined as free, informed, and express, revocable at any time, with no exceptions for the 18-year limit. Segués criticized the current code for allowing relations between a 14-year-old and a 60-year-old. The second block creates a specific chapter for minors, differentiating penalties by age and rejecting equal treatment for assaults on a 10-year-old versus an 18-year-old. The third targets child prostitution and pornography, criminalizing the full chain—recruitment, production, distribution, and consumption for the first time—along with tougher measures against pimping, online grooming, and human trafficking by organized crime. The fourth addresses digital violence, including non-consensual image sharing, unwanted content, AI-generated manipulations, and online enticement of minors.

Segués described the current code as outdated, failing to reflect social realities or new sexual violence patterns.

On abortion, group president Cerni Escalé proposed a "blank amendment" for broad decriminalization of women and medical staff, aligning with the PS position but awaiting the government's June proposal following talks with the Holy See. He urged faster action, questioning whether to wait for a woman to die during an emergency airlift abroad or for a raped minor without resources to access the procedure. Concòrdia wants it covered by the CASS social security system but avoids specifics to prevent straining ties with the Co-princeship, noting the Vatican's hardened stance has complicated earlier opportunities. Escalé dismissed claims of institutional debates, insisting no party seeks to alter Andorra's model.