Consent Is Not As Simple As It Seems

Exploring the nuances of consensual sex

AI-generated image for the prompt “photo of an American man and woman discussing a consensual relationship.” Shutterstock 2399578615.

Consent: the devil is in the details

Consent doesn’t seem to be very complicated, at first sight. If two people are having sex, either both of them want it or one of them does not. If one person did not consent, then it’s non-consensual sex, which the same as rape.

Simple, isn’t it?

Well, it’s actually not that simple. When you get down to it, there are many cases in which saying yes to sex does not imply consent.

For example:

1. One the individuals involved has a sexually transmitted disease (STI) and has not told the other.
2. A man removes his condom before penetration.
3. A woman has agreed to have intercourse. While they are having it, the man chokes her.
4. The boss has sex with his secretary.

Consent is not just saying yes. It requires having adequate information (case 1), respecting all the details of what have been agreed (case 2), not doing things that have not been agreed (case 3), and lack of coercion (case 4).

There are also cases in which it’s hard to tell if the sex was consensual or not:

1. Two strangers are…