Case Categories: Consent and 7 - DEFENCES
Para 36: “To be legally effective, consent must be freely given. Therefore, even if the complainant con- sented, or her conduct raises a reasonable doubt about her non-consent, circumstances may arise which call into question what factors prompted her apparent consent. The Code defines a series of conditions under which the law will deem an absence of consent in cases of assault, notwith- standing the complainant’s ostensible consent or participation. As enumerated in s. 265(3), these include submission by reason of force, fear, threats, fraud or the exercise of authority, and cod- ify the longstanding common law rule that consent given under fear or duress is ineffective.”
Case Categories: Consent and 7 - DEFENCES