OTTAWA – Secretly filming and sharing footage of consensual sex constitutes a sexual assault, according to an Ottawa judge’s recent ruling, sparking a debate over how courts view consent i...
It’s ultimately an issue with single party consent laws
It’s not even that, though. That may be in question, but the question here is whether or not an unlawful deed towards a party (“revenge porn” is illegal) should invalidate other agreements made between the same two parties.
To put it another way, if I hire you to fix my plumbing, and then you steal my car on your way out the door, should I be on the hook to pay you for your plumbing services? The theft of my car is unquestionably a legal violation, and something I am not welcoming of, but what is being questioned is if that act is related to our plumbing agreement.
Earlier comments in this thread suggest that if I knew you were going to steal my car I would not have hired you to fix my plumbing, and therefore the plumbing agreement must also be null and void. But the courts aren’t so sure – that there may be more nuance to that.
It’s not even that, though. That may be in question, but the question here is whether or not an unlawful deed towards a party (“revenge porn” is illegal) should invalidate other agreements made between the same two parties.
To put it another way, if I hire you to fix my plumbing, and then you steal my car on your way out the door, should I be on the hook to pay you for your plumbing services? The theft of my car is unquestionably a legal violation, and something I am not welcoming of, but what is being questioned is if that act is related to our plumbing agreement.
Earlier comments in this thread suggest that if I knew you were going to steal my car I would not have hired you to fix my plumbing, and therefore the plumbing agreement must also be null and void. But the courts aren’t so sure – that there may be more nuance to that.