Communicating Consent: Narratives of Sexual Consent in Victorian Rape Trials

This thesis explores the operation of a communicative standard of sexual consent in rape trials in Victoria. This standard has been introduced in law in Victoria through the definition of consent as ‘free agreement’, the list of consent-negating circumstances and the legislated jury directions. Communicative consent is premised on active and ongoing consent, demonstrated through actions or words. It should (re)direct trial discussion towards a focus on the perpetrator’s actions, and the steps that he took to ascertain that the other person was consenting. Yet, as this thesis argues, law reform has not enabled these changes to substantive trial practice.