Sexual assault in Spain is any sexual act carried out without the other person’s affirmative consent, and it carries prison sentences from one to fifteen years depending on the conduct and the circumstances. Victims can report at any National Police station, Civil Guard post, or duty court, 24 hours a day, and a network of crisis centers operates in every province. Emergency medical care, psychological support, and legal guidance are available regardless of nationality or immigration status.
What Counts as Sexual Assault Under Spanish Law
Article 178 of the Penal Code defines sexual assault as any act that violates another person’s sexual autonomy without their consent. Organic Law 10/2022, known as the “Only Yes Means Yes” law, put consent at the center of the framework and merged the older categories of “sexual abuse” and “sexual assault” into a single unified offense. Before that reform, non-consensual acts without physical force were treated as a lesser crime; that split no longer exists.
Consent means a person freely and clearly expresses their willingness to participate through words or actions that leave no reasonable doubt. Silence, passivity, or a lack of physical resistance is not consent. Consent must also last through the entire encounter and can be withdrawn at any point. Once someone communicates that they no longer want to continue, pressing forward becomes a criminal act.
Prison Sentences and Aggravating Factors
The penalty depends on the act itself and on whether aggravating factors are present:
- Basic sexual assault without penetration: one to four years in prison.
- Sexual assault involving penetration: four to twelve years.
- Aggravated assault without penetration: five to ten years when at least one aggravating factor applies.
- Aggravated assault with penetration: twelve to fifteen years when at least one aggravating factor applies, with sentences pushed toward the upper end when two or more factors concur.1Ministerio de Justicia. Criminal Code – Article 180
Article 180 lists the aggravating factors that push a case into the higher tier: violence or intimidation that is particularly degrading; group assault by two or more perpetrators; special vulnerability of the victim due to age, illness, or disability; abuse of a position of authority or a family relationship; and the use of weapons or dangerous instruments, which triggers the factor whether or not the weapon was actually used to injure. Chemical submission, where the perpetrator administers drugs or other substances to incapacitate the victim, also brings a case into the heightened tier.
Prison time is rarely the only consequence. Judges routinely add supervised release (libertad vigilada) after the sentence, which can involve GPS monitoring, mandatory therapy, and restrictions on approaching the victim. A conviction also brings permanent disqualification from professional or volunteer roles involving contact with minors, and the judgment typically orders financial restitution for material and psychological harm.
Every conviction results in registration in the Central Registry of Sex Offenders and Trafficking in Human Beings. Anyone working or volunteering with minors in Spain must produce a clean certificate from that registry.
Why the 2022 Law Was Revised in 2023
The 2022 reform produced an unintended effect. Because it lowered certain minimum sentences compared with the older code, and because Article 2.2 of the Penal Code makes any criminal law that benefits the defendant apply retroactively, more than 1,100 sex offenders had their sentences reduced by September 2023 and 117 were released from prison. In April 2023, Spain passed a revision that reinstated higher punishment levels for aggravated sexual offenses.2OHCHR. Spain: UN Expert Calls for Stronger Protection for Victims of Sexual Violence The consent framework and the unified offense stayed in place; the penalty ranges were what changed.
How to File a Report
A criminal complaint (denuncia) can be filed at any of the following, all of which operate around the clock:3National Office Against Sexual Violence. How to Report
- National Police stations (Comisaría de Policía Nacional).
- Civil Guard posts (Puesto de la Guardia Civil).
- Duty courts (Juzgado de Guardia).
An officer will take your statement and transcribe it into the formal denuncia. Read the transcript carefully before signing, because it becomes the foundation of the investigation. Once signed, you receive a certified copy, and the police forward the file to the judicial authority, which opens the investigation phase.
You can ask for a female officer to take your statement and request an interpreter if you do not speak Spanish. Victim support services, including access to a psychologist or social worker, are typically available at the station during filing.4GOV.UK. Spain: Information for Victims of Rape and Sexual Assault
Medical Care and Preserving Evidence
Evidence has a short window. If you are able, avoid showering, changing clothes, or washing anything that may carry biological traces. Keep text messages, emails, call logs, and social media exchanges with the perpetrator, and take screenshots with timestamps.
Go to the nearest hospital or health center as soon as you can. A forensic doctor working alongside medical staff will document injuries and collect biological samples through swabs, blood, and urine tests. You can request a female doctor, though availability varies. The hospital issues a medical report (parte de lesiones) listing all documented injuries; ask for a copy, as you will need it if you file or later support a complaint.4GOV.UK. Spain: Information for Victims of Rape and Sexual Assault
You do not have to file a police report before getting medical care. The forensic examination can be done first, and the evidence will be preserved if you decide to report later.5U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Spain and Andorra. Victims of Crime
Protective Orders
When a sexual assault occurs within a domestic or intimate relationship, the victim can request a protective order (orden de protección) from the duty court. A judge must hold a hearing within 72 hours of the request. If the judge finds strong evidence that a crime occurred and that the victim faces ongoing risk, the order can combine criminal and civil measures at once:6Consejo General del Poder Judicial. The Order of Protection
- Criminal measures: pretrial detention, restraining and no-contact orders, prohibition from returning to the crime scene or the victim’s home, and confiscation of weapons.
- Civil measures: assignment of the shared home to the victim, custody arrangements for children, and provisions for financial support.
The protective order also activates social assistance services. Civil measures stay in force for 30 days and can be extended if the victim starts family proceedings within that period. For assaults outside a domestic or family context, the investigating judge can still impose individual precautionary measures such as restraining orders and communication bans, on a different procedural track.
Financial Compensation and State Aid
Victims of sexual violence can receive government financial assistance under Law 35/1995, whether or not the assault involved physical force. Organic Law 10/2022 extended the application deadline for sexual violence victims from one year to five years from the date of the offense.7Portal de Clases Pasivas. Aid to Victims
Aid is calculated in monthly installments of the IPREM (Indicador Público de Renta de Efectos Múltiples), a public income index the government updates each year. For 2026, the monthly IPREM is €600. The maximum aid scales with the severity of harm:
- Therapeutic treatment: up to 5 monthly IPREM installments (€3,000 at current rates) for mental health treatment chosen by the victim.
- Partial permanent disability: up to 40 installments (€24,000).
- Inability to perform one’s usual occupation: up to 60 installments (€36,000).
- Inability to perform any occupation: up to 90 installments (€54,000).
- Severe disability: up to 130 installments (€78,000).8European e-Justice Portal. If My Claim Is to Be Considered in This Country – Spain
State aid generally cannot be combined with compensation awarded by a court judgment, unless the offender is declared partially insolvent. In that situation the victim can receive both, but the combined amount cannot exceed what the judge set in the ruling. Victims in precarious financial situations can also apply for interim aid before a final decision, provided their annualized income does not exceed the annualized IPREM. Separately, the court judgment can order the convicted offender to pay restitution for material losses and moral damages; that civil compensation operates independently and has no IPREM-linked cap.
Getting a Lawyer
Access to legal aid in Spain is generally means-tested, so eligibility depends on income. Minors under 18 are automatically entitled to free legal representation regardless of financial circumstances.4GOV.UK. Spain: Information for Victims of Rape and Sexual Assault Even if you do not qualify for state-funded representation, the duty lawyer (abogado de oficio) assigned at the police station during your initial report can guide you through the immediate filing process at no cost.
Helplines and Support Services
In an emergency, call 112, Spain’s general emergency line, which operates in multiple languages. For ongoing support, the 016 helpline provides free, confidential assistance 24 hours a day, including legal guidance, psychological care, and referrals to shelters and financial aid. Calls to 016 do not appear on your phone bill, though you may still want to delete the number from your call history if personal safety is a concern. The service is also reachable via WhatsApp at (+34) 600 000 016.5U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Spain and Andorra. Victims of Crime
The National Office Against Sexual Violence maintains 24-hour crisis centers (centros de crisis) in every province, each offering in-person psychological support, legal information, and emergency assistance. The Office publishes a full directory organized by province on its website.9National Office Against Sexual Violence. Resources
If You Are a Foreign National
Everyone in Spain has the right to report a sexual assault, receive emergency medical treatment, and access victim support services, regardless of nationality or immigration status. U.S. citizens can also contact the U.S. Embassy or a consulate for help replacing a passport, connecting with English-speaking attorneys, contacting family with your written permission, and referrals to medical care. The Embassy cannot investigate the crime, pay legal or medical bills, or intervene in Spanish legal proceedings. The key contact numbers are (+34) 91 587 2200 for the Embassy in Madrid and (+34) 93 280 2227 for the Barcelona Consulate General.5U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Spain and Andorra. Victims of Crime Citizens of other countries should contact their own embassy or consulate, which typically offers similar services.
Non-Consensual Images and Deepfakes
Distributing intimate images or videos of someone without their consent is a separate criminal offense under the Spanish Penal Code, carrying penalties of three months to one year in prison or fines. Sentences increase when the perpetrator is a current or former partner, when the victim is a minor, when the content is widely disseminated online, or when the distribution is done for profit. Spanish courts have applied these provisions to digitally altered images, including AI-generated deepfakes.
In early 2026, the Spanish government asked prosecutors to investigate whether major social media platforms bear criminal liability for allowing their AI tools to generate and distribute child sexual abuse material through deepfakes and image manipulation.10The Guardian. Spain to Investigate Social Media Firms Over AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material The area is evolving, but the underlying rule is settled: creating or sharing sexual content of a person without their consent is a crime, whatever technology produced it.