MEN who have sex with drunken women risk being found guilty of rape under proposals to increase conviction rates.

Ministers want to close a legal loophole which results in thousands of cases failing to reach the courts because the victims have been drinking.

At present, women are deemed to be capable of consenting to sex as long as they are not so drunk that they are unconscious.

However, under the proposals which could be announced as early as next month in the Queen’s speech, it will be up to juries to decide whether the woman was sober enough to know what she was doing.

The move would have huge implications for couples who have sex after getting drunk, placing a heavy responsibility on the man to ensure that the woman was fully conscious of her actions.

It raises the possibility that even if a woman agreed to sex while drunk, a jury could rule that she had been too inebriated to give meaningful consent.

It will not, however, affect the “burden of proof” required for a guilty verdict in which juries would still have to be convinced “beyond reasonable doubt” that a rape had taken place, say ministers.

The proposed change follows a public consultation launched by the government this year to investigate ways of combating low convictions for rape. Fewer than 6% of rape allegations result in successful convictions.

Ministers hope to decide within the next few weeks on reforms aimed at “non-stranger” rapes, such as date rapes, in which the issue of consent is crucial.

Mike O’Brien, the solicitor-general, who is spearheading the shake-up, said: “In non-stranger rapes, the issue is usually one of consent. There are usually only two people involved, one of whom will deny consent and the other who will insist that consent was given.

“The issue becomes particularly difficult where there is alcohol involved. What we have to do is to find ways of ensuring that where a rape occurs, the rapist is convicted, but that we don’t create miscarriages of justice.”

Police recorded 14,449 allegations of rape last year, one of the highest figures so far. Between 1991 and 2004 the number of rapes recorded rose by 247%. However, only 12% of cases actually reached court and one in 19 men was convicted.

In many cases, police filter out cases involving alcohol and drugs at an early stage, advising women who admit that they were drunk at the time of the alleged incident to drop the complaint because they stand little chance of being believed in court.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Should Knox’s trial even have reached the courtroom?
• All that glitters is not sold in Wright’s world
• Believe it or not, Big Brother is your friend