Aug. 2 (UPI) -- French lawmakers passed a law Wednesday, imposing fines for instances of sexual harassment on the street.
The law instituted a fine of up to $815 for gender-based harassment on streets and public transportation after a viral video showed 22-year-old Marie Laguerre being attacked by a man after she told him to "shut up" when he harassed her as she passed by.
It is expected to take effect in September.
"Harassment in the street has previously not been punished. From now on, it will be," Marlene Schiappa, a gender equality minister who crafted the legislation, said according to The Telegraph.
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The law outlaws sexual or sexist comments and degrading, intimidating or hostile behavior and Schiappa said she believes the fines will act as a "deterrent" to such behaviors.
Laguerre shared video of the attack, filed a police report and contacted woman's group Les Effrontées, which help her set up a website called Nous Toutes Harcelement, or We are all harassed, to allow women to anonymously share instances of sexual harassment "in the street, at work, in the private sphere."
"Her depression has now turned into a lot of rage and fighting spirit and she is really motivated now," Les Effrontées spokeswoman Fatima Benomar told The Telegraph.
Les Effrontées was among several groups who criticized the law, stating it would allow more serious offenses to go unpunished.
"Today, a man in the street who wolf whistles you twice can be considered to be sexually harassing you, which is punishable in the current law by two years in prison," feminist activist Caroline De Haas told the Telegraph.
She added the scope of the law failed to address conjugal violence and violence in the workplace and didn't provide sufficient education about sexism for young people.
Linda Kebbab of Unité SGP Police said the law would be "totally inapplicable" in practice.
"For a fine to be handed out, a police officer must see the offence with his or her own eyes," Kebab said. "Telling an officer you've been insulted or harassed is like saying a motorist has just gone through a red light: he'll agree with you that it's bad but without catching the person in the act, he can do nothing."
The law also extended the deadline for underage victims of rape to file complaints to 30 years after they turn 18 and stated sex between an adult and a person of 15 or under can only be considered rape if the younger party was judged not competent to give consent.
