UK Parliament home

Open Review how law distinguishes between BDSM/CNC and sexual assault

Created by Deeva swann
Closes on

Review the legal framework which distinguishes BDSM from sexual assault. This framework should guide police and courts in assessing consent, including whether it was freely given, ongoing and could be withdrawn and outline prior discussion, agreed boundaries and absence of coercion or incapacity.

The aim is to ensure that BDSM or CNC (consensual non consent) cannot be used to obscure or justify assault, while providing professionals with clear standards to assess these cases fairly and consistently.
As established in R v Brown [1993], consent is not a general defence to actual bodily harm, yet we are concerned that current legal ambiguity makes it difficult for the justice system to distinguish between genuine consensual BDSM practices and cases of domestic abuse or assault.

Sign this petition

17 signatures

Show on a map

10,000

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 8 November 2026.