{"id":37656,"date":"2023-11-27T16:08:18","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T14:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feministeerium.ee\/?p=37656"},"modified":"2026-08-07T16:22:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T13:22:26","slug":"the-consent-law-in-iceland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/the-consent-law-in-iceland\/","title":{"rendered":"Member of the Icelandic parliament: the consent law gives us a chance to reform education and our mentality"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2018, Iceland\u2019s parliament passed an affirmative sexual consent law which states that sex without free and clearly communicated consent is rape. Elise Rohtmets from Feministeerium interviewed \u00deorbj\u00f6rg Gunnlaugsd\u00f3ttir, a former prosecutor and current Member of Parliament, on how the affirmative consent law was passed and how it has in her view influenced the criminal justice system and society in general.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00deorbj\u00f6rg, you wrote your Master\u2019s Thesis on the consent law and worked together on the bill with J\u00f3n Steind\u00f3r Valdimarsson. How far-reaching were the changes that had to be made in the justice system, i.e. was the change only in the definition of rape, or was anything else changed?<\/p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Only the definition of rape in the penal code was changed and there were no proposals to change the procedure. We also had a sister bill on its implementation, specifically about education programmes in schools, courts, police, etc. Our party [J\u00f3n Steind\u00f3r and \u00deorbj\u00f6rg are both members of Iceland\u2019s Liberal Reform Party] was part of the opposition when we proposed the bill and as its implementation would result in costs, the sister bill did not pass back in 2018. We have proposed it again, but have not been successful since we are still in opposition.<\/p>\n

The consent law is not a magical solution to all our problems.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So there were neither any updated guidelines nor training for the judicial staff other than the mandatory explanatory memorandum that accompanies any bill. What changes, then, did the reform bring about in how cases were handled and brought to court?<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the sister bill was not passed. However, the Ministry of Justice could of course have taken any such steps. I know that within the prosecution there were meetings to discuss the changes after the law passed. I don’t know about the Courts and the police, but I would suspect they did have their meetings regarding these changes as well. As for the changes themselves, I must first state that the consent law is not a magical solution to all our problems and it has not radically changed how rape cases are handled in Iceland, since there was no widespread discussion among the judiciary on the nuances on how to use this tool. However, over the years we have seen different and more \u201cdifficult\u201d rape cases brought to the police while the number of convictions remains the same. 20 years ago these \u201cdifficult\u201d cases would have been hopeless. This, to me, indicates a positive change.<\/p>\n

On one hand, this change can be attributed to the change in society: women now have more confidence in themselves, even if not in the system. They want to go to the police, tell their story and let the system deal with it. If the case is not dropped, it still takes a long time to get a final verdict. In Iceland, a rape case can take around 3 years to go through the system. It would not be honest to say that with this law everything has changed, but a clear positive side of the consent law is that it opens up new possibilities in educational reform and wider cultural change. The affirmative consent law puts the emphasis on a person to have the responsibility of being sure that their sexual advances are wanted by their partner, instead of dismissing their partner\u2019s signals (or the lack of them) and when the damage is done, simply state \u201cthey didn\u2019t say no\u201d.<\/p>\n

The new definition draws focus on sexual autonomy where the focus needs to be.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So you are saying that when it comes to the consent law, public discussion and educating the justice system are very important?<\/p>\n

I strongly agree that debate is important and lack of implementation matters, meaning that the missing sister act in Iceland mattered. Altering the penal code\u2019s definition of rape without proper discussion with the people who are supposed to work with it, like judges, etc., weakens the change. However, I am a strong believer that even without proper discussion the new definition draws focus on sexual autonomy where the focus needs to be.<\/p>\n

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Justitia (also known as Lady Justice) is the goddess of justice in Roman mythology, often depicted with scales and a blindfold. Photo by Pavel Danilyuk<\/p><\/div>\n

Speaking of the new definition, how are rape and consent defined in Icelandic law?<\/p>\n

The old definition of rape was based on coercion where force or helplessness used by the perpetrator needed to be proved for a sexual act to count as rape. Now the definition is consent-based where consent needs to be freely expressed and is defined similarly to Sweden.<\/p>\n