What Is Consensual And Non-Consensual Sex

Consent is an agreement between participants to engage in sexual activity. Consent should be clearly and freely communicated. A verbal and affirmative expression of consent can help both you and your partner to understand and respect each other’s boundaries. Consent cannot be given by individuals who are underage, intoxicated or incapacitated by drugs or alcohol, or asleep or unconscious. If someone agrees to an activity under pressure of intimidation or threat, that isn’t considered consent because it was not given freely. 

Non-consensual sex means any sexual penetration without consent and/or by force, or trying to do the same.

Examples:

Rape

Unwanted oral sex

This article is all about Consensual and Non-Consensual Sex. Giving your consent and getting your partner’s consent may feel a bit awkward but ultimately sex is about communication and can and should be a positive and pleasurable experience. Any sexual contact without consent is wrong and illegal whatever the age of the people involved.

To convict you of sexual intercourse without consent, the prosecution must prove each of the following matters a beyond reasonable doubt:

That you engaged in an act with a person; and

That act constituted sexual intercourse; and

The person did not consent to engaging in sexual intercourse; and

That you were reckless as to whether the person consented to engaging in sexual intercourse.

If you are charged with an offence then, in addition to the above, the prosecution has to prove that you were acting in company with someone else when you engaged in sexual intercourse.

Possible Defenses For Sexual Intercourse Without Consent

The common ways to defend this charge are:

To maintain your innocence if you did not commit the act; or

To argue that the act did not constitute sexual intercourse; or

To argue that the person consented to engaging in sexual intercourse; or

To argue that you were not reckless as to whether the person consented;

If the sexual intercourse is alleged to have been engaged in while acting in company with someone else, to argue that the sexual intercourse was not engaged in while acting in company with that person.

Penalties

Imprisonment

Sexual assault laws regarding rape and criminal sexual penetration usually define this conduct as a felony with serious penalties. Many states have degrees of the crime, such as a rape in the first and second degree, depending on the vulnerability of the victim, the type of force used, whether the rape resulted in serious bodily injury, and whether it was committed with a deadly weapon, such as a rape at gun point.

Sentences for non-consensual sex or rape can range from one year to even life in prison, depending on the provisions of each state’s sentencing statute or sentencing guidelines, the victim’s age or status, and the circumstances of the crime. Some states require a minimum prison sentence or require the court to impose a prison sentence without probation or early parole. In other states, the judge may have some discretion on the length of the sentence and whether to allow the defendant to serve any portion of the sentence on probation rather than in prison.