Source: europarl.europa.eu 4/28/26
- Commission urged to propose EU-wide consent-based rape legislation
- Silence, lack of resistance or previous relationship must not imply consent
- MEPs call for a victim-centred approach with specialist support, training and prevention measures
- Compulsory training for professionals in contact with survivors
A new legal framework
MEPs say consent must be assessed in context, including in cases involving violence, threats, the abuse of power, fear, intimidation, unconsciousness, intoxication, chemical submission, sleep, illness, disability or vulnerability. They argue trauma responses (such as the “freeze” or the “fawn” responses) must be reflected in legislation and judicial practice and reiterate their demand for gender-based violence to be added to the charges considered as EU crimes.
A victim-centred approach
Only consent-based rape legislation can ensure access to justice, Parliament says. MEPs say the EU needs an intersectional and victim-centred approach, including the provision of immediate medical care, sexual and reproductive healthcare, safe and legal abortion, trauma care, psychological support, and legal assistance. They also want free specialist support services, including 24-hour crisis centres offering medical, psychological and legal support.
Training, education and awareness
The report calls for regular and tailored mandatory training for professionals likely to come into contact with rape victims, including law enforcement officers, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, healthcare professionals and frontline workers. MEPs want the Commission to present EU guidelines in 2026 on comprehensive sexuality and relationship education, as well as for EU-wide awareness campaigns on consent, relationships, sexual integrity and bodily autonomy, and for action against rape myths, anti-gender content, and incel propaganda online.
Quotes
Civil Liberties Committee rapporteur Evin Incir (S&D, Sweden) said: “It is both morally and legally unacceptable that women are not protected by ‘only yes means yes’ legislation across the EU. We have been calling for a common European definition of rape for years, and although the Council prevented its inclusion as part of the directive on combating violence against women, more and more governments are recognising the need for this approach – since 2023, France, Finland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have introduced consent-based laws. Momentum is with us: it’s time to deliver a common European definition of rape based on the absence of freely given and revocable consent.”
Women’s Rights Committee rapporteur Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus (S&D, Poland) said: “One in three women in the EU has experienced…