The Consent System
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Summary
Professor Luo Xiang of China University of Political Science and Law comprehensively explains the institution of sexual consent in law: the law must give women the confidence to say "no."
Does a woman dressing revealingly, being alone in a room with a man, getting drunk in front of a man, or sending ambiguous late-night messages equal her sexual consent? Why didn't I resist at the time? Did my smiling at him cause a misunderstanding? It's already happened—what should I do? How can women effectively express non-consent?
The question of consent is the core of the crime of sexual assault. Discussion of "sexual consent" is not limited to permission being required for sexual acts; it also includes a reexamination of the social customs, power, morality, and culture surrounding sex.
The book uses 15 sexual-consent topics of greatest public concern—from how sex becomes a right, to the criteria for judging non-consent, to whether consent is valid in various specific situations (age, violence, coercion, deception, within marriage, teacher-student, etc.)—to let everyone clearly understand the boundaries of this right that concerns them personally.
The book proposes plural rules of reasonable resistance, breaking the worldly prejudice that "saying no is just half-hearted reluctance." Examine yourself, understand yourself, be true to yourself, and make decisions under genuinely "informed" and "consented" circumstances.
When necessary, bravely say "no," and also learn to respect her "no," uphold her "no"; don't try to read her heart, but give her the right to speak her own will.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- General readers concerned with gender issues who want to understand the legal boundaries of sexual consent
- Students and practitioners in law, sociology, social work, and related fields
- Adults who need to handle communication and boundary issues in intimate relationships
- Personnel in education, counseling, and rights protection work
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting quick emotionally charged conclusions rather than careful analysis
- Readers only looking for entertaining stories or light reading
- Readers impatient with discussion of legal issues and unwilling to engage with specific scenario analysis
Reading tips
- First read the titles of the fifteen topics in the table of contents, and prioritize the chapter corresponding to the situation that confuses you most.
- After each scenario case, pause and write down your original judgment, then compare it with the book's analysis and revise.
- Excerpt the "plural rules of reasonable resistance" separately and do one application exercise using discussions around you or news events.
- You can discuss topic by topic with friends or a reading group, focusing on exchanging differences in each other's criteria for judging "consent."
About the publisher
Yunnan People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher with foreign literature and philosophical works as important publishing directions. Its representative books include Les Misérables (3 volumes), The Republic, Timaeus, Gitanjali, A Ship at Sea, a Horse in the Mountains: Poems of Lorca, On the Motion of the Heart and Blood, The Harmony of the World, and Xinmin Shuo, covering categories such as foreign literature, Western philosophy, literature, popular science, and history. Its author resources include Victor Hugo, Li Yumin, Plato, He Xiangdi, Song Jijie, Tagore, Xiao Xingzheng, and Federico García Lorca, among Chinese and foreign writers and translators. The press is adept at combining classic works with quality translations, balancing academic value and readability; public information on its fuller publishing features and plans is limited.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 作者简介
- 序言：社会控制与个人自由
- 引言
- 第1章 性同意如何成为一个问题？
- 一、历史上的性侵犯罪
- 二、人权运动与妇女解放
- 三、性侵犯罪的革新
- 四、性侵犯罪的法益嬗变
- 五、性自治权对刑法理论的挑战
- 第2章 性侵犯罪的核心问题
- 一、关于强奸罪本质特征的四种观点
- 二、“违背妇女意志”与“不同意”
- 三、不同意才是性侵犯罪的本质特征
- 第3章 同意的法律定义
- 一、同意与不同意的界限
- 二、同意是一种存在价值判断的概念
- 三、同意的定义
- 第4章 不同意的判断标准
- 一、对“不同意”的争论
- 二、不同意的标准
- 三、新的标准
- 四、标准的确认
- 五、主观标准还是客观标准？
- 第5章 要求女性反抗，是否不公平？
- 一、反抗规则之批评
- 二、辩驳反抗规则之批评
- 三、反抗规则的优点
- 四、新的合理反抗规则
- 第6章 暴力、胁迫手段下的同意
- 一、法条中的强制手段
- 二、暴力
- 三、胁迫
- 第7章 缺乏同意能力的同意
- 一、年龄与同意
- 二、心智不全与同意
- 三、身体无助与同意
- 第8章 “我以为她成年了”
- 一、性同意年龄
- 二、年龄上认识错误的性质
- 三、推定故意的判断标准
- 四、两小无猜的免责事由
- 第9章 信任关系中的同意
- 一、信任关系下的地位不平等
- 二、特殊的性同意年龄
- 三、我国的立法历程
- 第10章 受到威胁的同意
- 一、权利理论
- 二、交易理论
- 三、利用第三方优势理论
- 四、基于选择自由的角度
- 第11章 基于欺骗的同意
- 一、行为属性的欺骗
- 二、身份欺诈
- 三、利用宗教、封建迷信进行欺骗
- 四、以结婚为饵的骗奸行为
- 五、隐瞒疾病
- 第12章 婚姻关系内的同意
- 一、婚内性侵犯不构成犯罪
- 二、有限情况下的婚内性侵犯
- 三、强行发生性关系就构成性侵犯
- 四、婚内无奸的偏见应该被抛弃
- 第13章 求欢未成是不是犯罪中止？
- 一、姜某武案
- 二、中止与未遂
- 三、判断行为人是否犯罪回转
- 第14章 谁来证明“不同意”？
- 一、提出证据责任
- 二、排除合理怀疑
- 三、张三强奸案
- 第15章 性史作为证据
- 一、《强奸被害人庇护法》
- 二、《庇护法》引发的争论
- 三、《庇护法》在我国是否可行？
- 后记：学术的“降维”
FAQ
Does this book only discuss the legal issues of sexual acts themselves?
Will it be hard to read for someone without a legal background?
What does "plural rules of reasonable resistance" mean?
Is this book suitable for book club discussions?
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About the author
Luo Xiang is a Chinese author of legal writing who is widely read among general audiences. Public information about him is limited: his biography, educational background and professional positions are not recorded in our database. Judging from the ten works held here, he has written over the years on criminal law and the idea of the rule of law. Representative titles include Details of the Rule of Law, Lecture Notes on Criminal Law, A History of Punishment, The Paradox of Law and the five-volume Luo Xiang on Criminal Law, as well as The Consent System and More Than Justice: A Legal Scholar's Reading Club. His writing often begins with concrete cases and turns abstract statutes and institutions into accessible reasoning, combining reflection with readability; he also ranges into justice, life and philosophy, as in the book whose title asks whether philosophy is what really helps with life's big questions. His works are usually shelved under law, classics and inspirational growth, and suit ordinary readers who want to understand legal logic.
