On the occasion of International Women’s Rights Day, March 8, Sandrine Rousseau wanted to celebrate good news for women. On Twittershe shared an RTL article and wrote: “In Spain, a court condemns a man for non-sharing of domestic tasks. 200,000 euros all the same! The inequality of domestic tasks (like violence) is at the heart of patriarchy.” But it distorts reality a bit.
In Spain, a court condemns a man for not sharing household chores. 200,000 euros all the same!
The inequality of domestic tasks (like violence) is the heart of patriarchy.#DelitDeTachesDomestiques #8 March #8march2023https://t.co/ntDFF7Qvg2— Sandrine Rousseau (@sandrousseau) March 8, 2023
A man has been sentenced
The information on which it was based is true, a man was indeed sentenced to pay 204,000 euros to his ex-wife – and to pay her a pension – but it is not for “non-sharing of domestic tasks” . Many Internet users have noted it and reported it to the feminist MP.
The man was sentenced because, during their 24 and a half years of marriage, this woman was not allowed to work. Her husband only wanted her to take care of the house and their two children. Ivana Moral was entirely financially dependent on her husband and had to ask him for money to do any shopping, as she explained to several Spanish media. During this time, he had a great career. He opened gyms, invested and made a fortune. Except that in 2020, when they divorced, the woman found herself with almost nothing, because they were married under the regime of separation of property.
Compensation and recognition of domestic work
Article 1438 of the Spanish Civil Code stipulates that “the spouses contribute to the maintenance of the marriage. Failing agreement, they will do so in proportion to their respective economic resources. The works of the house will be counted as a contribution to the expenses and will give the right to obtain compensation which the judge will indicate, failing agreement, upon termination of the separation regime”. It is a form of recognition of the work accomplished without any remuneration.
In France, there is also a compensatory benefit to compensate a person who loses a lot in standard of living after a breakup. It is not a retroactive salary, as in Spain, but rather a future-oriented compensation, as explained lawyer Me Muriel Guillain at CheckNews of Release.
Sandrine Rousseau wants to create a “crime of non-sharing of domestic tasks”
In conclusion, the man was therefore not condemned per se because he did not take care of the house, but because his ex-wife sacrificed her career and was wronged. This is therefore not equivalent to the offense of non-sharing of domestic tasks mentioned by Sandrine Rousseau. In fact, the environmentalist takes advantage of this information to talk about the offense that she would like to create, she had spoken about it during the presidential campaign of 2022.
To make recognize in a couple a non-sharing of the domestic tasks as one recognizes the violences within the couples?
It is the proposal of @sandrousseau. ⬇️https://t.co/Cb6tOkcZrj pic.twitter.com/mHYjSm3oUk
— Madmoizelle (@Madmoizelle) March 21, 2022
She had made this proposal during a interview by miss. His project rather aimed at the imbalances in the distribution of daily tasks, in a couple where both people work and where it is true, women still often work double days. “It’s really an unthinking of gender equality policies, women still do eight hours more of unpaid domestic work a week, and it’s crucial“, she explained. At the time, the proposal caused a lot of reaction.