The European rights court on Thursday found France's laws on sexual consent are insufficient, ruling against the authorities in a case involving a woman who accused her boss of coercing her into an abusive relationship.

The plaintiff, an assistant pharmacist now in her 40s, worked on a temporary contract at a hospital in 2010, when she entered into a sado-masochistic sexual relationship with the head of the department.

Sado-masochism typically involves one person inflicting pain or humiliating treatment on another, although the roles can switch.

The woman, named only as E.A, born in 1983, was around a decade-and-a-half younger than the department head, named as K.B., who was born in 1967.

She later filed a legal complaint against him, accusing him of "rape involving torture and barbari

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