Closed petition Reverse the burden of proof in relation to consent in sexual assault cases

We want to place the burden of proof on the defence, to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that they did have consent.

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30 years of vital education in sexual consent surged when, in 2015 Thames Valley Police’s ‘cup of tea consent’ video used the principle to aid understanding of consent and autonomy in sex and our right to be heard saying no.

We think campaigns meant to enable sexual autonomy are abused by those committing such crimes. We feel abusers are armed with an early defence enabling them to claim ‘consent’ burdening authorities to disprove a nonexistence, avoiding charge altogether. Charging rates for rape are under 3%.

This petition is closed All petitions run for 6 months

219 signatures

Progress of the petition towards its next target: 219 of 10,000 signatures required to get a government response

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10,000 signatures required to get a government response

Date closed 9 November 2025
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