STRASBOURG – Amid a global backlash against sexual and reproductive rights, the European Parliament has taken a decisive stand by voting for a unified, human rights-based standard for sexual offences.

This Europe-wide legislative push aims to overhaul the fragmented national laws that currently leave many survivors without access to justice or essential health support.

The resolution formally urges the European Commission to draft binding laws that recognise rape is fundamentally defined by a lack of consent. This represents a stark departure from outdated national models that require victims to physically fight back or explicitly say no.

“It is both morally and legally unacceptable that women are not protected by ‘only yes means yes’ legislation across the EU,” leading lawmaker Evin Incir from the centre-left social democrats (S&D) declared following the plenary vote on Tuesday.

Just hours earlier, the European Parliament had adopted a landmark report with 447 votes in favour, 160 votes against, and 43 abstentions, demanding a unified standard for sexual offences.

The push for reform is driven by a societal reckoning, spurred by cases that have sparked international outrage, such as that of Gisèle Pelicot in France. During a high-profile 2024 trial, the public learned that Pelicot’s husband had covertly drugged and raped her over a decade, also inviting dozens of men to rape her while she was unconscious.

Human rights baseline: only yes means yes

At the core of the European debate is the push for an ‘only yes means yes’ principle to ensure that any sexual act without freely given consent is legally classified as a crime. While a clear verbal “yes” is the most direct method, legal experts emphasise that consent can be expressed in any voluntary and unambiguous way, meaning affirmative gestures or reciprocal actions, depending on the specific context of the relationship.

Establishing legislation focused on the lack of consent is widely viewed as the necessary next step to implement the Istanbul Convention. Opened for signature in 2011 and ratified or acceded to by 39 parties, Article 36 of this comprehensive international treaty explicitly requires member states to criminalise all non-consensual sexual acts, setting a clear human rights baseline.

A unified legal definition is essential for health policy, as it directly impacts how survivors access emergency contraception, trauma counselling, and forensic medical care. Recognising the health sector’s critical role in this recovery process, the WHO Regional Office for Europe provides health system baseline assessments to help stakeholders monitor member states’ compliance with the Istanbul Convention.

The latest comprehensive EU gender-based violence survey reveals that a staggering 30.7% of women across the bloc have experienced physical or sexual violence, which aligns with global data. Crucially, 8.4% of women report being raped while under coercion or being unable to refuse, nearly double the 4.8% who experienced overt physical force.

Despite this high prevalence, systemic barriers continue to suppress official reporting and hinder access to post-rape care. Only 13.9% of victims ever contact the police, frequently citing embarrassment, fear of retaliation, or a belief that law enforcement cannot help them as their primary reasons for silence.

Acknowledging trauma and fear responses

A critical aspect of focusing on the lack of consent involves officially recognising the physiological realities of trauma. Medical experts and victim advocates continuously stress that a lack of physical resistance does not equate to a voluntary agreement.

Legislators underscored the neurobiological “freeze” response, where a victim perceives overwhelming danger, and the body is rendered completely paralysed.

“It’s important to understand that a victim may not always have the strength to fight, to say no,” Polish co-rapporteur Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus explained at the press conference.

While some victims might actively fight back, others can also freeze or faint. A 2017 Swedish study from the Karolinska Institute found that 70% of sexual assault survivors experience significant “tonic immobility,” an involuntary, temporary state of motor inhibition triggered by intense fear.

Current legal systems in several member states routinely dismiss cases where victims experienced this involuntary physiological paralysis, which the European Parliament notes causes severe secondary victimisation. Furthermore, victim support networks like Women Against Violence in Europe (WAVE) warn that failing to provide trauma-informed, gender-specific responses deters survivors from seeking essential medical and psychological support.

Implementing laws based on an ‘only yes means yes’ principle would mandate that judges and law enforcement officials understand these complex trauma responses. Policy analysts argue this shift is vital for building trust in public institutions and ensuring that victims feel safe enough to access specialised healthcare services.

Fractured legal landscape leaves survivors vulnerable

The contrast between different national models highlights why European lawmakers are demanding unified rules. In Germany, the current framework dictates that a victim must signal refusal, meaning perpetrators often escape conviction if the victim remains passive due to fear.

According to recently published data from the Federal Criminal Police, 14,454 rapes were reported in Germany in 2025, an 8.5% increase that officials attribute primarily to a growing willingness among victims to come forward. However, the consequences of the current legal framework are still reflected in extremely low conviction rates, with the women’s rights organisation Terre des Femmes estimating that only one in one hundred rapes ultimately results in a conviction.

Legal practitioners, including the German Women Lawyers Association, argue that this standard protects perpetrators rather than victims by shifting the responsibility of communication onto the assaulted person. They maintain that establishing the lack of consent as the legal threshold is the necessary next step to enable more victims to seek justice.

Conversely, countries such as Sweden and Spain have recently reformed their penal codes to ensure that sexual relations must be affirmatively agreed upon. While Sweden has already recorded a subsequent rise in convictions due to broadened evidence admissibility, monitors note that Spain’s groundbreaking 2022 law has yet to translate into similar statistical increases.

Political tide is changing in Europe

The road to a unified standard has been fraught with conflict. During the 2024 negotiations for the EU’s first Directive on violence against women, a blocking minority led by France, Germany, and Hungary successfully stripped rape from the final text.

Rapporteur Evin Incir reminded the public of the “unholy alliance” of leaders – including Viktor Orbán and Emmanuel Macron – who formed this blocking minority. These national leaders had argued that the European Union lacked the legal competence to harmonise criminal laws on sexual violence.

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However, the political winds are shifting. Mounting public pressure has forced national governments to reconsider, with countries like France now actively revising their own criminal codes to align with an ‘only yes means yes’-based model.

Despite the momentum, the proposal faces fierce opposition from far-right factions who frame the initiative as an ideological overreach. During the Strasbourg debate, an MEP from the Patriots for Europe group argued that “human relationships do not unfold through formalized steps or legal checklists,” claiming the law would amount to morally policing intimate desire.

Other right-wing voices attempted to pivot the debate toward anti-immigrant narratives, suggesting lawmakers should “protect the streets, not the bedrooms”. Progressive lawmakers swiftly rejected this framing, citing data that proves the vast majority of sexual assaults are committed by perpetrators known to the victim, underscoring the systemic, domestic nature of the crisis.

More than judicial reform needed

Establishing the ‘only yes means yes’ principle as the legal threshold for rape demands a fundamental re-evaluation of how European societies view sexual availability and interpersonal power dynamics. The core premise is that sexual partners must actively communicate their desires and mutually negotiate the boundaries of their intimacy.

However, reforming the penal code to reflect the lack of consent is only one part of the broader societal transformation envisioned by the European Parliament. Lawmakers are heavily emphasising the need for mandatory, comprehensive sexuality and relationship education across all member states.

To ensure these legal reforms are effectively applied, parliamentarians are also demanding mandatory, trauma-sensitive education for law enforcement officers to prevent secondary victimisation during police investigations.

“Why in 2026 should it be controversial that we demand that it should be mandatory for those who are working to support these women and girls who are victims?” rapporteur Incir asked, pointing to the tough negotiations with conservative co-legislators.

The European Commission has signalled its readiness to support this cultural shift by mapping the current legal landscape across the Union to identify further legislative action. However, it could take years before an EU-wide law takes effect: after the Commission proposes a legal framework, the parliament and EU member states have to negotiate their positions and find a compromise.

Image Credits: Felix Sassmannshausen/HPW.