National Promises Stricter Rules On Sexual Consent

National
is promising to modernise laws on sexual consent, saying
there must be consent before sex every time, rather than
assuming it has been given.

The party says if it is
re-elected, it will ensure that consent is actively given,
meaning there must be a “yes” rather than the absence of a
“no”.

Both Labour and Greens have called out the
National party for walking away from cross party support on
the issue.

Justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith said
the “yes” could be communicated by words or actions and that
silence was not consent.

“Unlike other jurisdictions
we normally compare ourselves with, New Zealand law does not
define what consent is. Rather, the Crimes Act provides a
non-exhaustive list of what consent is not.

“The
change would align the law with what we’ve been telling our
kids for a long time: that you need positive consent before
sex, each and every time, rather than presuming it,” he
said.

In court cases, the prosecution would still need
to prove beyond reasonable doubt that consent was not given
and that the defendant did not believe on reasonable grounds
that it was, he said.

“This isn’t only about the
courts, where explaining what consent is, not just what it
isn’t, helps judges and juries. It also resets social
expectations, so that sex is understood as something both
people actively choose.”

Goldsmith said National’s
sexual consent laws built on the party’s promise to ban good
character discounts at sentencing for all sexual
offending, and its work in government to give sexual
violence victims the power to determine whether their
perpetrators received permanent name
suppression.

Labour, Greens call out National for
waiting despite cross party support

The Labour Party
agree the government should crack on with tightening consent
laws, by supporting a member’s bill Labour has already
drafted.

The bill was developed by a cross-party group
of MPs and seeks to define consent as something
“communicated through words or actions” and make clear the
consent cannot be inferred from silence or inaction and make
it clear that a person cannot reasonably believe consent has
been given unless they have taken reasonable steps to
establish it.

In
a statement, Labour’s Justice spokesperson Camilla Belich
said the reform was ready and National could act now or
“continue to delay”.

“This should never have become a
political issue. MPs from across Parliament worked together
to develop this Bill because New Zealanders deserve consent
laws that are clear, modern and fit for
purpose.”

“It’s deeply disappointing National walked
away from those bipartisan discussions. If they are serious
on reform, why wait? We can do this now. This Bill already
has support from the Labour and Green caucus and is being
actively discussed with other parties across the
House.”

The Green party also called out National for
walking away from cross party support to improve consent
laws.

Greens co leader Marama Davidson said if
National is so keen on the safety of survivors, the party
could make it happen straight away with support from the
Greens and Labour.

Davidson
said National walked away from cross party work to progress
their own bill, but are delaying change and turning it into
a false election issue.

Asked if he would be willing
to get the reform over the line by working with the
opposition, Goldsmith said National were “focussed” but
already had an “extremely” busy agenda.

“‘I’ve got
many changes in relation to retail crime and a whole bunch
of things that we’ve been doing, and we’re indicating that
if we’re re-elected, we’ll be changing the law in this
space.”

“I’m glad that Labour are supportive of it,
and I’m surprised they didn’t do it when they were in
government.” he
said.

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