Elly Schlein said Thursday that her opposition, centre-left Democratic Party (PD) has reached an agreement with Premier Giorgia Meloni's right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party to tighten the definition of rape to make it clear that sex without explicit consent is a felony.
"Without consent, it's always violence.
Only 'yes' is 'yes'," Schlein said in a social media post featuring a photo of her and Meloni.
"We unanimously approved a very important provision in the Lower House's Justice Committee that for the first time introduces the principle of free consent: it's finally clear that only 'yes' is 'yes', it's finally clear that any sexual act without consent is rape.
"This is a fundamental cultural shift in the fight against gender violence.
