Sonora, Mexico: Recommendations to reform the Penal Code on consent

Sexual violence laws in Sonora still contain gaps that undermine access to justice for girls and adolescents. This brief analyses a proposed reform to the state Penal Code and offers recommendations to align it with international human rights standards on consent. It shows that force-based definitions of sexual violence, as well as discriminatory offences such as estupro, continue to limit effective protection and accountability. It also highlights the need for legal reforms that reflect the realities of coercion, unequal power, and the particular risks faced by girls and adolescents.

This brief calls for a stronger, consent-based legal framework that protects girls and adolescents and improves access to justice.

Recommendations

• Centre sexual violence offences on the absence of consent: Ensure the law does not rely on proof of force, resistance, or intimidation to establish sexual violence.
• Eliminate discriminatory legal provisions such as estupro: Remove offences that minimise sexual violence against adolescents.
• Strengthen protection for girls and adolescents: Expand legal safeguards in ways that reflect their heightened vulnerability to coercion and abuse.
• Avoid criminalising consensual peer relationships: Include close-in-age exceptions so that protections for minors do not penalise consensual relationships between adolescents.
• Adopt a victim-centred approach: Ensure legal reform supports protection, dignity, and access to justice without revictimisation.