The German Minister of Justice has expressed support for strengthening the wording of legislation on consent to sex and introducing the principle that "only 'yes' means 'yes'" instead of the current approach that "no" means "no." This is reported by Tagesschau.
Germany's Federal Minister of Justice, Stephanie Hubig, advocates for changes to the current criminal legislation regarding what constitutes consensual sex.
She proposes a stricter approach that states "only 'yes' means 'yes'" instead of the current approach, which has been in place since 2016, that "no" means "no." With the new approach, a sexual act will only be considered consensual if all parties clearly express their consent and are in a state where they are aware of their actions.
Hubig plans to discuss this issue within the government coalition. There is already broad support in the federal government to introduce this approach in legislation concerning minors.
"I think we now also need to discuss with the coalition whether we can take a comprehensive step," said the minister. She noted that this would provide better protection for victims and clearer rules.
According to current German law, rape can only be considered in cases where the party that did not want sex clearly stated their unwillingness. Since the principle of "no means no" has been in effect since 2016, there is no longer a requirement for physical resistance to subsequently recognize that sex occurred against someone's will.
