{"id":383258,"date":"2026-05-05T10:30:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T05:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=383258"},"modified":"2026-05-05T10:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T04:54:08","slug":"eu-parliament-consent-based-rape-definition-only-yes-means-yes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/05\/05\/eu-parliament-consent-based-rape-definition-only-yes-means-yes\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Only Yes Means Yes’: Sex Without Consent Must Be Rape Across EU; European Parliament Urges Commission to Legislate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On 28 April 2026, the European Parliament<\/span> adopted a resolution calling for a common, consent based definition of rape across all Member States. The decision responds to wide disparities in national laws and follows the exclusion of rape definitions from the EU’s 2024 Directive on Combating Violence Against Women. Parliament<\/span> reaffirmed that rape must be defined by the absence of freely given, informed, and revocable consent, an approach commonly described as ‘only yes means yes<\/span>.’<\/p>\n

The resolution urges the European Commission to bring forward EU-wide legislation to ensure equal protection and a survivor centred approach to justice across the Union.<\/span><\/p>\n

Background:<\/h2>\n

Rape laws across the EU have long differed, with several Member States still relying on force or violence based definitions rather than the absence of consent. This has resulted in uneven legal protection for survivors and sustained criticism from human rights bodies.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the European Union acceded to the Istanbul Convention<\/span>, which requires rape to be criminalised based on the absence of freely given consent. However, when the EU adopted the Directive on Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence in 2024<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span>, a proposed article introducing an EU wide definition of rape was removed after opposition from the Council of the EU. Criminal law competence remained a key point of disagreement.<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, the European Parliament, particularly through its Civil Liberties (LIBE)<\/span> and Women’s Rights (FEMM)<\/span> Committees, continued to push for a consent based approach. On 24 April 2026<\/span>, Parliament’s rapporteurs briefed the media ahead of a plenary debate, signalling that a renewed political push was imminent.2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

That debate culminated in a decisive vote on 28 April 2026<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Key takeaways of European Parliament decision:<\/h2>\n

The European Parliament adopted a formal resolution<\/span> calling on the European Commission<\/span> to propose EU-wide legislation defining rape as sex without freely given, informed, and revocable consent<\/span>. It was adopted by a strong majority:<\/p>\n