Do You Honestly Believe a Statutory Definition of Consent is Enough?
Rape Myths, Gender Stereotypes and Legislative Solutions
Keywords:
Consent, Rape Myths, Gender Stereotypes, Statutory Definition, Sex Scripts, Rape Conviction Rates, Irish Sexual Offence Law, Irish Criminal Justice System, Systemic Discrimination, Feminist Analysis, Perceptions of Blame, Sexual History Evidence, Feminist Criminology, GenderAbstract
While Ireland’s new statutory definition of consent respects the female voice in its promotion of communicative sexuality, the current subjective formulation of the honest belief defence continues to exclusively support and endorse the perspective of the male accused. By bolstering this male perspective, the law operates to perpetuate a number of damaging rape myths and gender stereotypes. In order to dispel such misconceived societal attitudes, and in light of the Law Reform Commission’s recent Report on Knowledge or Belief Concerning Consent in Rape Law, this paper aims to highlight the need for the Oireachtas to make immediate amendments to this contentious area of the law on sexual offences.
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