What is the test for an accused to have a "honest belief" that the victim is giving consent?
Alberta, Canada
The following excerpt is from R. v. Macfie, 2001 ABCA 34 (CanLII):
Where, the commencement of the encounter is characterized by violence or threats which would negative consent, the honest belief must be one which, if true, would establish innocence. In these circumstances, it is not sufficient that the accused honestly believe that the victim is communicating consent; he must also have an honest belief that she was doing so voluntarily and not as a result of the threats or violence he perpetrated against her. (See Sansregret v. The Queen, 1985 CanLII 79 (SCC), [1985] 1 S.C.R. 570.
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