MEPs’ report urges common rape definition
A report by a committee of MEPs has called on the European Commission to propose new legislation that would include a common definition of rape.
The MEPs say that the EU-wide definition of rape should be grounded in the absence of freely given, informed, and revocable consent.
Two years ago, the parliament and commission backed the inclusion of a consent-based definition of rape in a directive on violence against women and domestic violence, but not enough EU governments could agree on a legal definition at EU Council level.
International standards
The call for fresh EU legislation came in a report backed yesterday (25 February) by the Committees on Civil Liberties and Women’s Rights, which said that it should complement the 2024 directive, which introduces common standards on prevention, protection and victim support.
The report also urges member states that still rely on force- or violence-based definitions of rape to align their laws with international standards – including the Istanbul Convention, ratified by the EU in 2023.
Civil Liberties Committee rapporteur Evin Incir said that it was “unacceptable” that in 2026, in parts of the EU, women were still not protected by consent-based rape laws.
She urged the wider parliament to back the report in its plenary session on 25-26 March.
Pelicot case
Women’s Rights Committee rapporteur Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus said that much had changed since the Council opposed the inclusion of a consent-based definition of rape.
“Since then, the case of Gisèle Pelicot has shaken the whole world. Her courage to speak out, has opened the eyes of even the most conservative opponents of this change.
“We have an obligation to use this momentum, not tomorrow, but now,” she stated.