Episode 319: The Bogus BDSM Legal Defense

Was it consensual kink or sexual abuse? This question is at the heart of a growing number of legal cases. Unfortunately, people sometimes try to claim consensual kink as a cover for sexual violence, a trend my guest today refers to as “the bogus BDSM defense.” In this show, we’re going to dive into a few recent cases where the bogus BDSM defense has been deployed, as well as the signs that can help us to distinguish between consensual kink and sexual violence.

I am joined once again by Andrea Zanin, author of the new book Post-Nonmonogamy and Beyond. They are also co-author of the new edition of the book More than Two. Andrea blogs at sexgeek.wordpress.com, and has authored a book chapter on the bogus BDSM defense.

Some of the topics we cover in this episode include:

• What does the “bogus BDSM defense” look like?
• Is this defense ever successful in terms of avoiding conviction or leading to a reduced sentence?
• How does the bogus BDSM defense intersect with race and respectability politics?
• How can we prevent people from using claims of consensual kink as a cover for sexual violence?

You can check out Andrea’s website to read more of their work.

Got a sex question? Send me a podcast voicemail to have it answered on a future episode at speakpipe.com/sexandpsychology.

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Credits: Precision Podcasting (Podcast editing) and Shutterstock/Florian (Music). Image created with Canva; photos used with permission of guest.