June 18, 2026

Author: Lawyer Enrico Germano

The resolution was passed on April 28, 2026, with 447 votes in favor, 160 against, and 43 abstentions. MEPs called on the European Commission to propose a complementary law to the 2024 EU Directive on Violence against Women. The central objective is to introduce a common definition of rape based on the absence of consent. The required principle is that rape be defined not so much using force, but by the absence of free, informed, and revocable consent. This approach is often summarized with the idea: “only yes means yes”.

The request is consistent with the Istanbul Convention, which already establishes that rape and sexual violence must be defined based on the absence of consent, not evidence of physical violence. The EU therefore intends to align national legislation with this international standard. The Istanbul Convention is a Council of Europe international treaty that protects women and girls from various forms of violence. In Switzerland, it entered into force on April 1, 2018. Currently, the situation varies from country to country, and approximately 17 out of 27 EU countries already use consent as a key element, but not all apply the true “yes means yes” standard. Some states (including Italy, Hungary, and Slovakia) remain more committed to models based on violence or coercion. Others, such as Sweden in 2018, Denmark with the 2020 reform, Spain with a 2022 law, and France with the 2025 reform, are among the European countries cited as examples of explicit consent at the heart of the law.

The 2024 EU directive on gender-based violence did not include a common definition of rape (due to a lack of agreement among states). Given that laws in various EU countries still differ, Parliament is pushing for uniform protections and judicial criteria.

What concrete changes compared to Switzerland? Switzerland has already recently implemented a reform, but it is not identical to the “yes means yes” model that the European Parliament would like to extend.

Since 2023, Switzerland has updated its criminal law by introducing the “no means no” model. This means rape occurs if a person expresses refusal (verbal or nonverbal) or if the perpetrator takes advantage of a situation in which the victim cannot resist, such as shock, fear, or paralysis.

In practice, a signal of non-consent, even an implicit one, is required. Specifically, in Switzerland, in addition to words or gestures, even a state of shock or freezing is currently considered an expression of refusal.

Key difference (in practice) between the EU and Switzerland

Situation	Switzerland (“no means no”)	EU model (“only yes means yes”)
The person remains passive and unresponsive	It can be difficult to prove a crime	More easily considered rape
There is no explicit “no”	More complex case	Can the absence of “yes” be enough?
Focus of the process	Was there a refusal?	Was there active consent?

In fact, Switzerland is already more advanced than in the past, but it remains a system based on refusal (no), while the EU model relies entirely on explicit consent (yes).