What constitutes rape? According to the European Parliament, it’s the absence of consent. On Tuesday, lawmakers called for EU-wide legislation to define rape on those terms, in a vote marked by unusual uncertainty.
Approving the resolution with 447 votes for, 160 against, and 43 abstentions, lawmakers called on the European Commission, particularly the Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib, to propose new legislation to complement the 2024 EU directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence.
The proposed legislation would include a definition of rape based on the absence of consent, in line with the Istanbul Convention, which the European Union ratified in 2023.
The result was met with applause in the chamber, despite uncertainty over the outcome until just hours before the vote, amid divisions within the European People’s Party (EPP) over how its members would vote.
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“We had to negotiate word for word, something that never happened in the previous parliamentary term,” said Evin Incir (S&D/SWE), one of the text’s two co-rapporteurs.
What counts as consent?
Shortly before the vote, she and her colleague, co-rapporteur Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus (The Left/POL), stated they were frustrated by negotiations with the faction. “We were very disappointed with the negotiations on the dossier,” they said, adding that talks had become bogged down over wording on issues such as abortion and feminism.
At the heart of the report is the conviction that the EU needs a clear and harmonised definition of rape based on freely given consent. “Sexual acts without free consent must be punishable, and lack of resistance must never be interpreted as consent,” MEP Verena Mertens (EPP/DEU), shadow rapporteur for the file said.
A woman’s protection against rape “should not depend on the country she lives in”, she added, pointing to disparities in national laws across the bloc. In recent years, countries including France, Finland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands have adopted consent-based rape laws. Others, however, still require evidence of violence or coercion for an act to be classified as rape.
Recognising trauma responses
The Renew Europe group said the vote marked “a decisive step forward” after a setback in 2024, when a consent-based definition was removed from the EU directive on violence against women following objections from several member states, which argued the EU lacked the legal competence to legislate on the matter.
MEPs say the legislation adopts an intersectional and victim-centred approach to sexual violence. The European Parliament states that silence, lack of resistance, the absence of a ‘no’, prior consent, past sexual conduct, or an existing or previous relationship must not be interpreted as consent.
Instead, lawmakers argue consent must be assessed case by case, taking into account the context and circumstances, including violence, threats, abuse of power, fear, intimidation, unconsciousness, intoxication, chemical incapacitation, sleep, illness, physical injury, disability or other forms of vulnerability.
ECR is critical
The text also addresses trauma responses in rape cases, including temporary immobility and appeasement behaviours. “For the first time at European level, the document recognises the ‘freeze reaction’, an involuntary response to fear that can lead to temporary paralysis, and the ‘submission reaction,’ a survival strategy in which victims attempt to appease the aggressor to avoid escalation,” a statement by Renew reads, adding that neither can constitute consent.
Among groups that oppose the report are the European Conservatives and Reformists. Elena Donazzan (ECR/ITA), ECR vice-coordinator in the Parliament’s women’s rights committee, criticised the debate as an attempt by the left to inject “generic and misleading gender theories” into rights discussions.
Pressure on Lahbib
For Abir Al-Sahlani (Renew/SWE), however, rape laws across Europe have long reflected a flawed understanding of sexual violence. The law “has been built on a completely wrong vision of rape”, she said, arguing that sexual violence is sustained not only by individual perpetrators but by legal and cultural systems that normalise it.
Some lawmakers also questioned the role of Commissioner Hadja Lahbib in advancing the topic. Specifically, Ms Scheuring-Wielgus described Ms Lahbib as “progressive but weak,” arguing that she had failed to convince fellow commissioners of the importance of the issue.
The Commission is now expected to respond to Parliament’s demands by drafting new legislative proposals and guidelines, including on sexuality and relationship education, awareness campaigns on consent and bodily autonomy, and measures to counter rape myths, anti-gender content, and ‘incel’ propaganda online.
