南非最高法院在裁定现行法律的某些部分违宪后,正在决定是否在性犯罪案件中改革同意法。 South Africa’s top court is deciding whether to reform consent laws in sexual offence cases, following a ruling that parts of the current law are unconstitutional.

南非宪法法院在2024年高等法院裁决宣布《性犯罪法》的某些部分违宪之后,正在审查一个里程碑式的性犯罪同意案件。 The South African Constitutional Court is reviewing a landmark case on consent in sexual offences, following a 2024 High Court ruling that declared parts of the Sexual Offences Act unconstitutional. 案件辩护中心允许被告个人声称他们有理由相信已经表示同意,即使没有实际同意。 The case centers on a defense allowing accused individuals to claim they reasonably believed consent was given, even without actual consent. 代表强奸幸存者Inge Holztrager的拥抱项目认为,法律必须要求被告证明他们采取了合理步骤确认同意。 The Embrace Project, representing rape survivor Inge Holztrager, argues the law must require defendants to prove they took reasonable steps to confirm consent. 应用法律研究中心敦促从法律定义中删除“未经同意”一词,指出目前的框架不公平地给受害者造成负担,并将性暴力视为同意失败而不是胁迫罪。 The Centre for Applied Legal Studies urges removing “without consent” from legal definitions, saying the current framework unfairly burdens victims and frames sexual violence as a consent failure rather than a crime of coercion. 虽然政府接受高等法院的裁决,但最终的裁决可能会大大改变对性犯罪的起诉方式,并更有效地保护幸存者。 While the government accepts the high court’s decision, the final ruling could significantly reshape how sexual offences are prosecuted and protect survivors more effectively.