As we reported in our last edition, France recently legislated a major change to redefine rape as sex without clearly expressed consent. However, a similar proposal in Italy, supported by both Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her center-left rival Elly Schlein, has run into political obstacles due to objections from Meloni’s coalition partner, Deputy PM Matteo Salvini, who said the vague law “leaves too much open to the individual’s interpretation” and could be used for “personal vendettas without any abuse taking place.”
Canada has long had such a consent standard in its criminal law, but rape survivors complain about poor enforcement in the wake of a new government report recommending key changes, such as attorneys to advocate for victims, shielding victims’ therapeutic records from subpoena by defense attorneys, and “trauma-informed protocols for police investigations.” Balancing the privacy rights of victims against the due-process rights of the accused has never been easy, and becomes even more complicated in situations where communication between them was ambiguous or clouded by intoxication.
