london —
European lawmakers have voted to define rape as sex without active consent, a historic step for women’s rights and survivors of sexual violence in the EU.
A European Parliament resolution passed by an overwhelming margin on Tuesday calls on all EU member states to adopt a “yes means yes” only legal standard for consent, recognizing that a “yes” obtained by coercion is invalid.
The movement aims to replace the traditional “no, no” principle, which activists say does not protect victims by not requiring explicit, affirmative consent to sexual activity.
The resolution is just the first step in a political process and will now need to be submitted as a bill for EU member states to vote on.
Dutch lawmaker Anna Strollenberg said: “A society that truly respects women will not ask whether women have resisted enough, but whether they have freely consented.” She told CNN: “No one can consent when they are asleep, drugged, unconscious or paralyzed with fear. Laws that leave room for this doubt leave room for violence.”
Currently, rape laws in Europe generally follow one of two models: consent-based, which considers rape to be a non-consensual sexual act, or coercion-based, which requires that the sex act was forced. According to Amnesty International, 21 of the 27 EU member states have adopted consensual rape laws, with some countries such as Sweden and Spain following a “yes means yes” approach. On the other hand, in countries like Hungary and Latvia, the law typically requires evidence of the use of force, threat or coercion.
Experts say these legal gaps pose major hurdles for survivors, who must prove the use of violence or intimidation.
French lawmaker Manon Aubry said in a debate before the vote that laws that do not recognize the importance of active consent allow for “total impunity for perpetrators.”
In October 2025, after years of opposition, France updated its criminal code to clearly define rape as sexual intercourse without consent. The move follows a public verdict in the landmark Perico trial in which 50 men were charged with gang-raping Gisele Perico, drugging her ex-husband Dominic Perico and orchestrating the rape with men he met online.
A series of similar high-profile drug-facilitated sexual abuse (DFSA) cases have come to light in Europe. In December, a German man was found guilty of drugging and raping his unconscious wife over a period of several years and filming the process.
European lawmakers have historically struggled to agree on a uniform definition of rape across the EU, but Irish lawmaker Maria Walsh said CNN’s recent report on online “rape academies” has accelerated the debate.
Mr Walsh said the discovery of a Telegram group in which around 1,000 men shared step-by-step instructions for drugging and assaulting their partners, and was part of a wider network of non-consensual image sharing, highlighted “why a Europe-wide response is so urgently needed” when it comes to prosecuting sexual assault.
Amnesty International’s Dinushika Dissanayake welcomed Tuesday’s resolution, saying it was an important step in the fight against a “rape culture” sustained and perpetuated by harmful myths and gender stereotypes, and attempts to normalize and even justify sexual violence in our societies.
According to Amnesty International, one in six women in the EU has experienced sexual violence in adulthood, and one in 10 has been raped in her lifetime.
“At a time when headlines are filled with stories of online rape academies and organized child sex rings, and when victims like Gisele Perico are struggling to tell their stories to raise awareness of abuse, this call should resonate strongly with EU decision-makers,” Dissanayake said.
CNN’s Saskia Vandoorne contributed to this report.
