Implement Affirmative Consent for Sexual Activity

Implement affirmative consent: a clear, voluntary, explicit agreement to engage in specific sexual activity, requiring ongoing communication and mutual understanding. This would emphasise active consent rather than an absence of objections. We ask that legislation be updated to this model.

Current laws on rape and sexual assault allow "implied consent" and considers the perpetrator's "reasonable beliefs". An affirmative consent model addresses these points by requiring explicit agreement at every stage of the interaction, preventing misunderstandings. The Sexual Offences Act is 20 years old. We believe the consent model should be re-evaluated in light of international change and to better protect survivors in court, shifting focus from an absence of 'no' to the presence of 'yes'.

The law in this important and sensitive area is kept under review. This Government is committed to the protection of people from sexual abuse and exploitation in all its forms, and we have taken a robust and zero tolerance approach to rape and sexual assault.

Since 2010, the average custodial sentence length for adult rape has increased over 40% from six and a half years to nine and a half years. We have also introduced a number of changes to release points since 2020 to ensure rapists and other serious sexual offenders who receive a standard determinate sentence of over 4 years will be automatically released at the two thirds point of their sentence instead of halfway. We are going further in the Sentencing Bill, which will require all serious sexual offenders to spend 100% of their custodial term in prison.

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 was introduced following a full and extensive consultation and significantly modernised and strengthened the laws on sexual offences in England and Wales.

All of the measures in the Act were designed to provide a clear and effective set of laws to deter and punish abusers, giving the police and the courts the up-to-date offences, they need to do their job, and ensuring that children and adults have the strongest possible protection under the law.

The 2003 Act provides rightly robust sentences that reflect the seriousness of this offending, including a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for the most serious offences, including rape.

The independent Review “Setting the Boundaries”, commissioned by the then Government, recommended that consent should mean free agreement, recognising that such agreement to sexual activity is not necessarily verbal but must be understood by both parties.