Oaxaca incorporates consent into its criminal legislation: a model for strengthening justice across Mexico

In Mexico, significant legal gaps continue to allow sexual violence to remain largely an unpunished crime. The recent reform approved in the state of Oaxaca, which recognises that any sexual act without consent constitutes rape, offers a concrete example of how states can align their legislation with international human rights standards and advance towards survivor-centred justice. This change positions Oaxaca as a national and regional reference point for promoting consent-based definitions of rape.

In August 2025, the Congress of the state of Oaxaca approved a reform that redefines the crime of rape and places consent at the centre of criminal legislation. Now, the absence of consent is sufficient to establish the crime, without requiring survivors to demonstrate that there was physical violence, resistance or intimidation.

The reform clarifies key concepts such as coercion and vulnerability, and prohibits inferring consent from silence, lack of resistance, sexual history, seduction or deception. With this change, Oaxaca becomes the first Mexican state to adopt a consent-based definition of rape, in line with international human rights standards.

This achievement represents a significant victory for those who have long demanded that women should have, and should be allowed to exercise, the right to bodily integrity and to freely choose whether to engage in sexual activity or not without feeling any pressure to do so and that those who breach this right will be held accountable.

Why is this reform so important?

Sexual violence in Mexico is a persistent and well-documented problem. According to the National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships (ENDIREH 2021), conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), sexual violence remains one of the most frequent forms of violence experienced by women in the country. This reality highlights the urgent need for legal frameworks that effectively protect survivors and ensure investigations and judicial processes free from stereotypes.

However, most state criminal codes have not incorporated the international standard of consent. Instead of defining rape on the basis of absence of consent, many laws continue to require proof of force, threats or resistance, which revictimises women, girls and adolescents and contributes to impunity.

The reform approved in Oaxaca directly responds to the gaps identified in Equality Now’s analysis, Gaps in the protection of laws and practices on sexual violence in Mexico, which warned that the absence of a consent standard in state criminal codes hindered survivors’ protection and facilitated impunity. The amendment to the Oaxaca Criminal Code brings this recommendation into practice, ensuring that any sexual act without consent is recognised as rape and providing a concrete model for progress across the country.

Feminist alliances transforming the law

The progress achieved in Oaxaca is the result of sustained collective advocacy. Since 2020, Equality Now has been part of Aliadas por la Igualdad y la No Violencia, a coalition of Mexican feminist organisations working to strengthen institutional responses to gender-based violence and ensure access to justice for all.

Building on this collaboration, in 2024 Equality Now began working with the State Secretariat for Women, the Office of the Attorney General, the State Executive Commission for Comprehensive Victim Support and the Judiciary of Oaxaca to promote the consent standard in the investigation and prosecution of sexual crimes.

In 2025, Equality Now provided technical assistance in drafting the legislative proposal, participating in working sessions with the Committees on Women and Gender Equality and on the Administration of Justice. Our contribution focused on technical inputs grounded in international human rights standards. The result was a broadly supported reform that now positions Oaxaca as a reference for other Mexican states and for the wider region.

“As the advance in Oaxaca shows, progress is possible when institutions listen and work hand-in-hand with civil society. This change was made possible through constant dialogue between authorities, legislators and feminist organisations committed to ending impunity for sexual violence”, explained Elizabeth C. Plácido, Equality Now’s Advocacy Officer in Mexico.

A model for Mexico and for other States in Latin America and the Caribbean

Oaxaca’s experience is becoming a national reference point. Equality Now is currently working with the organisations EnIgualdad and Lúminas  to promote similar reforms in the states of Sonora and San Luis Potosí, using the Oaxaca text as a legislative model.

Collaboration with authorities in Oaxaca has also strengthened, reinforcing the commitment to apply the consent standard in sexual violence investigations and in judicial practice, and to ensure that every woman, girl and adolescent can access justice free from stereotypes.

As Bárbara Jiménez Santiago, Equality Now’s Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, notes, “for us and our allies in Mexico, this reform represents a highly significant step forward in protecting survivors by closing gaps that allowed impunity for years. It also consolidates a more robust legal framework that offers justice operators better tools for implementation. It is a concrete step towards a system that listens, believes and delivers coherent responses for those who face these forms of violence”.

Federal changes now on the cards

In November 2025, a publicly perpetrated act of sexual violence against the President of Mexico reignited national debate on the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault in the country. The visibility of the case underscored that sexual violence affects women of all ages and backgrounds, and reinforced the urgency of ensuring that laws effectively protect survivors rather than doing so symbolically.

In response, federal authorities announced plans to review the legal definition of sexual abuse in the Federal Criminal Code, seeking to revise and unify legal criteria nationwide. In this context, the reform adopted in Oaxaca becomes even more relevant: it can and should serve as a model demonstrating how laws can incorporate consent as a fundamental element of justice, both in Mexico and in the broader region.