The Queensland government is looking to reform a 110 year old rape defence “loophole” that allows an accused rapist to argue they had a misinformed but genuine reason to believe the sex was consensual.
The “mistake of fact” defence has been used by defendants to argue that a woman’s behaviour such as flirting or coming to a man’s house was consent.
Sexual assault victim Bri Lee explained the defence is often used “when the compainant had a ‘freeze’ response to unwanted sexual attention and didn’t fight back enough,” with reform advocates explaining Queensland’s consent laws are outdated.