Intimate Relationships, Autonomy, and Voice
The process by which Supreme Court judges are appointed is traditionally a quiet affair, but this certainly wasnt the case when Prime Minister Stephen Harper selected Justice Marc Nadon for appointment to Canadas highest court. Here, for the first...
"Michael Plaxton takes a seemingly implausible and antifeminist argument in favour of implied consent in sexual assault, and makes it both plausible and feminist. He argues that women's autonomy requires the possibility of implied consent in conditions of mutuality within intimate relationships. Implied Consent and Sexual Assault is a nuanced, provocative, and important contribution to feminist conceptions of consent, sexual assault, and criminal law." - Brenda Cossman, University of Toronto "Michael Plaxton presents lucid, convincing, and profound arguments on the nature of autonomy, consent, mutuality, objectification, and the role of criminal regulation. A sophisticated and invaluable resource." - Jon Herring, Exeter College, Oxford "Drawing on the work of Jennifer Nedelsky, Martha Nussbaum, and Clare Chambers, Plaxton suggests that individuals may make autonomous decisions on a second-order level to relinquish some autonomy on a first-order level. When exit from a relationship is possible or when a voice within it promotes mutuality in shaping its contours, the law should allow for the legitimacy of implied consent. This need not endanger the criminalization of marital rape, as the private norms of the parties trump the existence of formal relationships. Plaxton's work is applicable to more than sexual assault law. Highly recommended." CHOICE
Michael Plaxton is associate professor of law at the University of Saskatchewan.