Free to Consent: The case for legalising body modification, BDSM, and transhumanism

A new paper by Ben Ramanauskas, an independent researcher, makes the case for reforming the law to allow people to consent to activities such as body modification, BDSM, and transhumanism:

  • Under English law, consent is not a defence to a charge of actual bodily harm (ABH) or grievous bodily harm (GBH), except for certain socially sanctioned activities.

  • Judicial findings that body modification (i.e. the Dr Evil case) and types of BDSM (i.e. R v. Brown) are unlawful raise philosophical and legal questions about consensual activities in which neither party is aggrieved.

  • The law is applied inconsistently. People can consent to some potentially harmful activities, such as: ear piercings, contact sports and religious flagellation, but cannot consent to body modification or pleasurable sexual activities.

  • The type of activities in which consent is a valid defence has been arbitrarily determined by the judiciary, reflecting their biases and prejudices, rather than an objective determination of consent and harm.

  • Although undoubtedly well intentioned, and designed to protect individuals or society from harm, past verdicts that prevent people from consenting to certain activities represent a serious infringement on personal liberty. Individuals should be free to consent to sadomasochistic encounters and body modification. 

  • The people who are most likely to suffer from laws that do not allow individuals to consent are sexual minorities and members of subcultures - whose activities fall outside of cultural norms and therefore attract an instinctive disgust reaction.

  • The development of transhumanism - technology to evolve beyond our current physical and mental limitations - could also be limited by existing laws that prevent body modification. 

  • If the Government wishes to enable greater personal freedom, protect minority expressions, and enable emerging technologies, the Offences Against the Person Act should be reformed so that consent becomes a valid defence to charges of ABH and GBH. The onus would be on the defendant to prove that the alleged victim had consented to the acts.

  • Practitioners of body modification should be allowed to apply for a licence from their local authority in the same way as tattooists and body piercers.

  • These steps would ensure that vulnerable people are still protected and that consent cannot be used inappropriately as a defence, while also upholding the rights of individuals.

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