Sexual consent in law

Common card · No. 215012

Sexual consent plays an important role in laws regarding rape, sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence. In a court of law, whether the alleged victim had freely given consent, and whether they were deemed to be capable of giving consent, can determine whether the alleged perpetrator is guilty of rape, sexual assault or some other form of sexual misconduct. Although many jurisdictions do not define what sexual consent is, almost all jurisdictions in the world have determined an age of consent before which children are deemed incapable of consenting to sexual activity; engaging in sex with them thus constitutes statutory rape (see laws regarding child sexual abuse). Many also stipulate conditions under which adults are deemed incapable of consenting, such as being asleep or unconscious, intoxicated by alcohol or another drug, mentally or physically disabled, or deceived as to the nature of the act or the identity of the alleged perpetrator (rape by deception). Most disagreement...

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