Sexual consent laws will be strengthened

McEntee says too ‘subjective’ | Cabinet gives action approval

- LOUISE BURNE

JUSTICE Minister Helen McEntee has announced plans to strengthen laws around sexual consent and change rules around character references.

Under current laws, a person can be found not guilty of rape if they honestly but mistakenly believed they had the consent of the victim.

However, the law has been branded “subjective” and the Government has announced its intention to change it under its domestic violence strategy.

Minister McEntee secured Cabinet approval this week to publish a new bill to tackle the issue.

Under the new law, the question now will be whether someone could have reasonably believed that they had consent rather than if they “honestly” believed it.