The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Union bloc rejected a Greens’ proposal to embed the principle “Only Yes Means Yes” into Germany’s sexual offense law on Thursday afternoon. Alongside Green lawmakers, the Left party also voiced support for the bill, which aims to better protect people from sexual misconduct and rape through a consent-based framework.
Spokespersons from the Social Democratic Party (SPD) indicated a willingness to discuss such reform. The proposal will soon undergo committee scrutiny.
Under German sexual offense law, a “No means No” approach applies. Any sexual act carried out against the clearly expressed will of a person is punishable. This framework was codified in the criminal code in 2016.
Lena Gumnior (Greens) argued that every sexual act without consent should be punishable, just as in many other European countries. She stated that consent “can be expressed with words, with a nod, or through the whole body language.” No one needs to sign a written contract. At the same time, however, she emphasized: “Silence and passivity are not consent.”
Often it’s a “he-said, she-said” situation
Already today, in cases of suspected rape, the court weighs whether there was consent. Susanne Hierl, a member of the CSU, said that in many such cases “he-said, she-said” testimony prevails without objective evidence.
In these circumstances, the presumption is “doubt in favor of the defendant.” The Greens’ proposal would not alter this structural challenge. Changes to criminal law without meaningful effect could erode citizens’ trust in the rule of law.
SPD sees gaps in victim protection
Carmen Wegge (SPD) noted that the introduction of the “No means No” principle was a success at the time. Nevertheless, she pointed to gaps in victim protection. She cited the case of a man in Thuringia who dragged a woman into a bush to carry out sexual acts; the woman reportedly entered a state of shock, and the perpetrator was acquitted.
Meanwhile, AfD MP Knuth Meyer-Soltau warned against “criminalizing human misunderstandings.” He argued that Greens had produced a dangerous “draft that moralizes itself” and attacked core principles of German criminal law. In his view, the proposed changes effectively amount to a backdoor shift of the burden of proof. He added that interpersonal intimacy is not an administrative act.
Several countries have adopted the “Only Yes Means Yes” principle in sexual offense law, deeming sex without explicit consent to be rape. These include France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Iceland, and Malta.
