On Thursday August 15, 2024 at 9 am Pacific time/Noon Eastern I will present my work on legal prosecution of cases related to BDSM for the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS)
BDSM / Kink special interest group (SIG)
#SSSS #SexScience @sexscience_
“BDSM / Kink & the Law”
Thursday, 15 August 2024 @ 9am Pacific
Click for other worldwide time zones.
90-minute meeting:
Research Interviews (60-minute) +
SIG Social / Networking / Research-Focused Peer Support (30-minute)
Zoom Registration:
https://tinyurl.com/SSSS-BDSM-240815
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
- Elisabeth Sheff: “Kinky Sex Gone Wrong: Legal Prosecution of BDSM Cases”
- Susan Wright: “NCSF’s Recent Legal / Legislative Research on BDSM / Kink”
- Mandi Gray: “Suing for Silence: Sexual Violence and Defamation Law”
| Elisabeth Sheff, PhD, CSEUX Research, Center for Positive Sexuality, &Woodhull Sexual Freedom FoundationShe / Her | Susan Wright, MANational Coalition for Sexual FreedomShe / Her | Mandi Gray, PhDTrent UniversityShe / Her |
| www.elisabethsheff.comwww.bondingproject.com | www.ncsfreedom.org | www.mandigray.comwww.ubcpress.ca/suing-for-silence |
| Kinky Sex Gone Wrong:Legal Prosecution of BDSM Cases | NCSF’s Recent Legal / Legislative Research on BDSM / Kink | Suing for Silence:Sexual Violence and Defamation Law |
| In this presentation Dr. Eli Sheff first explains her expert witness practice and briefly describes the two primary research studies upon which her practice is based. Then Dr. Eli briefly summarizes the three primary types of cases for which she has provided testimony: discerning consent vs abduction, assault, and rape; distinguishing between age play and sexual predation against children; and death by kinky sexual practices. This presentation closes with Dr. Eli’s recommendations for safer kink that avoids the kinds of miscommunications or mistakes that lead to legal prosecution. | NCSF’s Incident Reporting & Response (IRR) program has been gathering data on the kink communities for 27 years, tracking trends in the reports we receive and responding to the needs of the alt-sex communities through the development of consent initiatives and resources. NCSF is currently working to decriminalize BDSM in the U.S., and is preparing to lobby various State legislatures for the adoption of Explicit Prior Permission, the legal framework for consent to the erotic use of force and restraint created by the American Law Institute in the revised Model Penal Code on Sexual Assault. We will discuss some of the recent trends in legal liability for kink groups and events that have been reported to NCSF’s IRR, including large monetary payouts for injuries and consent violations. We will also look at NCSF’s current research on erotic choking/strangulation in the context of NCSF’s IRR data, as compared to “rough sex” and choking deaths that have been reported in mainstream news articles. | This presentation is based on Mandi Gray’s new book “Suing for Silence: Sexual Violence and Defamation Law” (UBC Press, 2024), which critically examines how men accused of sexual violence rely on defamation law to silence disclosures of sexual violence from an intersectional feminist framework. The use of defamation law to silence important discourse about sexual violence appears to be a growing tactic globally, with significant implications for addressing the issue. This presentation will focus specifically on (3) case studies that are relevant to the BDSM/Kink community, where defamation actions have been initiated following sexual harm. |
| Dr. Elisabeth “Eli” Sheff is a researcher, expert witness, coach, speaker, and educational consultant. With a PhD in Sociology and certification as a Sexuality Educator from AASECT, Dr. Eli specializes in gender and sexual minority families, consensual non-monogamy, and kink/BDSM. Sheff is the foremost academic expert on polyamorous families with children, and her 25+ year Polyamorous Family Study is the only longitudinal study of poly families with children to date. Dr. Eli has served as faculty at seven universities and currently chairs the CNM Legal Issues Team for the American Psychological Association, Division 44 Committee on CNM. Sheff has published four books, over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters, and is currently editing a series of books on relationship and sexual diversity. | Susan Wright founded the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom in 1997, and serves as Executive Director. She currently chairs the Consent Counts Committee that worked with the American Law Institute to revise the Model Penal Code on Sexual Assault to create Section 213:10 Explicit Prior Permission for consent to kink. She also chaired NCSF’s successful DSM Revision Project which helped result in the consensual paraphilias being separated from the Paraphilic Disorders in the DSM-5 (2013). Susan’s research focuses on discrimination and violence against alt-sex practitioners, consent practices and attitudes, and the mental and physical health of alt-sex practitioners, with 23 papers published in professional journals. | Mandi Gray is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Criminology Program at Trent University in Peterborough, Canada. She is also an anti-violence activist and author of Suing for Silence: Sexual Violence and Defamation Law. Mandi is the primary subject in the 2018 documentary film Slut or Nut: The Diary of a Rape Trial. |
| #SSSS #SexScience @sexscience_ |
| SSSS is dedicated to advancing knowledge of sexuality and communicating scientifically based sexuality research and scholarship to professionals, policy makers, and the general public. SSSS fosters a worldwide community of diverse professionals committed to a scholarly and scientific approach to acquiring and disseminating accurate knowledge of sexuality. SSSS believes that freedom of inquiry is essential for the promotion of human welfare and the reduction of ignorance and prejudice about sexuality. SSSS BDSM/Kink SIG supports healing of institutionalized shame, stigma, and marginalization. SSSS BDSM / Kink SIG https://www.sexscience.org/BDSMKinkSIG |
