London: Men face being charged with rape if they have sex with women who are drunk.
The proposal, contained in a Home Office report, is being considered by ministers in a bid to boost conviction rates for sex offences and bring more "date rapists" to justice.
The new law would mean a woman judged to be drunk at the time of having sex would be deemed incapable of giving her consent.
That would potentially open the way for the prosecution of thousands of men for having sex with drunk women - regardless of whether agreement had been given at the time.
Successful prosecutions for rape often founder before they get to court because of the difficulty in proving to juries that a victim had not given consent.
The law change would end that uncertainty and is expected to lead to a huge rise in the current conviction rate of five per cent.
Proof of whether a woman was drunk would come from medical tests - including those taken many hours later using a "back calculating" technique - as well as evidence from witnesses and victims.
The new offence will be proposed in a report on countering date rape by the Home Office's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
The report also looks at the role played in sex attacks by drugs such as GHB and rohypnol, which are used by rapists to sedate their victims.
It also recommends the increased testing of victim's hair, which retains drug traces weeks later.
