MsSilvie
Posts: 248
Joined: 2/4/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BobcatsLilMinx
I don't know how it is the US, but in the UK I know that any submissive/masochist can go to court, and the arguement "it was voluntary" means nothing if it is deemed that the dominant/sadist's actions were in violation of the European Human Right's Act. Unfortunately, this IS necessary, to prevent those cases where women really are kept in non-consensual slaveries and abuse being theown out of court because the defendant claims it was voluntary.
If you are refering to the Spanner case, that is a really strange situation (at least for me, looking at it from the US). My understanding is that one person was convicted solely for something like conspiring to commit assult, ON HIMSELF!
I can understand perfectly the need to sometimes be able to prosecute even if the victim can't/won't testify. But consent and intent play a huge part in BDSM activity. If a perrson takes up karate or boxing, it's probably a given that you are going to come home roughed up if you are doing some sparring. A person might come home equally roughed up from getting mugged. But the legal system deals with muggers differently than with sparring partners. And it should! You've consented to one, and not to the other.
quote:
A lot of people talk about the safety of the female submissive - what a vulnerable place she puts herself in. It's also important to recognise how vulnerable a dom is these days too. The very second he lifts a hand to a woman, he is placing a huge amount of faith and trust in her, because "consensual" doesn't even enter the situation in the UK at the moment, if she later goes to the police and claims he assaulted her - especially if she bruises/ marks to "prove" it.
It's not an equal playing field, that's for sure. I probably face less potential problems as a female top, but even I'm very cautious about my playing partners. The very first things I look for is stability and character. I would be even more cautious if I were male. Because if someone claims afterward that they didn't consent, that can be a life impacting accusation, even if it's false.
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Like anything else, the protection that our governement offers to women can be abused. And when that happens, it makes the entire system less effective. It just comes back to that thing, of not accepting a submission from anyone but a woman you really rtust, and then, writing a slave contract between you, in which it states clearly that the slavery was consensual. Admittedly, even that document may not hold any sway in court at all, but it's better than your word against theirs.
A contract isn't legal. Showing one may actually backfire, because it could be inturpreted as the dominant intended to abuse the submissive. The best thing you could have is a long running relationship where there is communication back and forth. But obviously, even then, problems can come up.
_____________________________
Strange thoughts beget strange deeds.
- Percy Bysshe Shelley
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