The EU’s plan to criminalise non-consensual sex is falling apart

The first ever EU-wide legislation to protect women against violence, tabled by the European Commission in 2022, was widely celebrated by feminist organisations due to its definition of rape as sex without consent. The novel approach meant that victims would not be required to provide evidence of force, threats or coercion to prove a crime has been committed. But the law is having a rough time: negotiations have been at a deadlock for months as 12 member states – among them France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic – oppose the EU-wide definition. Paris and Berlin, in particular, have come under fire for holding the blocking minority. Mared Gwyn Jones explores the gridlock around the EU’s first-ever “only yes means yes” law.

_________________
The EU’s plan to criminalise non-consensual sex is falling apart 3_eaay31