Foilsiú

Consent

Ó: An Roinn Dlí agus Cirt
Foilsithe: 18 Aibreán 2019
An t-eolas is déanaí: 14 Nollaig 2021

Introduction

Sexual consent in defined in Irish law and to summarise, a person consents to a sexual act if he or she freely and voluntarily agrees to engage in that act.

A person does not consent to a sexual act if he or she:

is forced, or threatened with force, or is genuinely afraid of force being used against him or herself or against another person
is asleep or unconscious
is incapable of consenting because of the effect of alcohol or some other drug
is suffering from a physical disability which prevents him or her from communicating whether he or she agrees to the act
is mistaken as to the identity of any other person involved in the act
is being prevented from leaving at the time at which the act takes place
consents for that person
is mistaken as to the nature and purpose of the act

There may be other circumstances where a person does not consent.

For example:

a person can change their mind and can retract consent at any time before or during a sexual act
a person who does not actively resist is not automatically consenting

The issue of consent is fundamental to understanding sexual violence. Although it is indisputable that sex without consent is rape, the concept of consent is often contested, both in courtrooms and in the discourse about sexual violence.

Recent research for this campaign shows there is some confusion about what constitutes consent in particular situations.

Much has been written about how we understand, or should understand consent and a list of such resources can be found below.