III. Genuine belief in consent
As the definition of rape is sexual intercourse without consent, a man who has a genuine belief that the woman was consenting cannot be convicted of rape even if she did not consent. The genuine belief in consent means that the man did not intend to have sexual intercourse without consent. Similarly a genuine belief in consent means that he was not pressing ahead regardless of whether she consented or not. The question of fact for the jury would be whether there was a reasonable doubt that the defendant subjectively believed there was consent. If he genuinely had that belief, he must be acquitted even if the jury finds that, objectively, the belief was unreasonable. However, if the belief claimed was objectively unreasonable, it will be unlikely for the jury to find that there was an actual genuine belief, but the question for the jury would be whether the belief was held.
Print
Email
