Legislating consent in sexual relations: How significant is the move to affirmative consent?

Abstract

There are significant problems with how the justice system responds to sexual violence. This essay discusses some of the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s recent reform recommendations, focusing on affirmative consent. It considers the history of consent reform, beginning with the introduction some 30 years ago of a communicative consent model. It explains why further reform is needed and what affirmative consent is designed to achieve.