‘Perfecting’ the criminal law definition of sexual consent: 50 years of statutory reform in Australia
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In this article we locate the recent emergence of ‘affirmative consent’ as the gold standard for rape law reform in the longer history of statutory amendments directed at modernising the criminal law meaning of sexual consent. We show that affirmative consent reforms are only the latest in a long line of attempts to improve the definitions contained in criminal law statute books, dating back to the 1970s. We juxtapose this preoccupation, and the volume of statutory reform it has produced, with the evidence that complainants in rape trials are still routinely confronted with the assertion that they consented, and that rape myths are regularly engaged to this end. Recognising that there are multiple audiences for rape law reform, both inside and outside the courtroom, we nonetheless caution that continued faith in consent definition-focused law reform risks further disappointment for victim-survivors of sexual violence who turn to the criminal courts for redress. We argue that other aspects of the laws governing rape trials, including the capacious concept of ‘relevant’ evidence, must come under scrutiny. Finally, we suggest that 50 years of consent law refinement prompt re-consideration of the relationship between prolific criminal law-making and over-criminalisation.
Authors: Julia Quilter, Luke McNamara
Institutions: University of Wollongong, UNSW Sydney
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7147215395