An “honest” belief that an alleged victim had consented to sex may no longer be a legal defence in rape cases if proposals being considered by the Government become law.
The Department of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General are considering the proposal to significantly modify the State’s consent laws.
The planned reform is at an advanced stage, has the backing of the Law Reform Commission and is a key part of the Government’s plan to take action on consent laws.
Under the proposal, an accused person could not be acquitted of rape if a court found that their belief that the alleged victim had consented was not an objectively reasonable belief.
Sarah Monaghan, who is the ‘We-consent’ campaign manager at the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.
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