Sex - Informed Consent and Mental Illness
I've been trying to research the law on people having sex when they are not mentally stable enough to give meaningful consent.
Obviously it can be difficult for a person to accurately assess a partner's state of mind but let's say, for sake of argument, that Person A is definitely aware that Person B has bipolar disorder and would not consent to sex if he or she was not manic. Would Person A be breaking the law to have sex with Person B?
What are your thoughts on the morality of sleeping with a bipolar sufferer in a manic phase?
12 comments:
It's questions like that which make me realise, if my wife ever left me, I'd be too scared to have sex with anybody unless I've given them a background check, a credit report and got them to sign a consent form in triplicate in front of three witnesses.
Makes me think of this quite humorous sketch.
I know sooooo many bipolar people who have alot of sex when their manic and then feel yucky about it later. Unfortunately its a very grey area as far as law is concerned. There is a fine line.
It's a tricky one because there usually is apparent informed consent at the time and the guilt and self-loathing comes after.
Also it's hard to gage the extent to which the non-bipolar partner understands the loss of self-control that goes with mania.
The law is reasonably clear on this, at least it is regarding rape (which usually means women as victims, women can't usually be guilty of rape unless they are accessories or use a "device" - ie "normal" penis/vaginal sex, with no other parties involved, cannot result in a rape conviction for a woman), see the Sexual Offences Act. The victim has to be capable of consent - they may not be able to consent if they are drunk, under the influence of drugs or otherwise incapable (which would include their general mental condition).
The law is reasonably clear on this, at least it is regarding rape (which usually means women as victims, women can't usually be guilty of rape unless they are accessories or use a "device" - ie "normal" penis/vaginal sex, with no other parties involved, cannot result in a rape conviction for a woman), see the Sexual Offences Act. The victim has to be capable of consent - they may not be able to consent if they are drunk, under the influence of drugs or otherwise incapable (which would include their general mental condition).
Wouldn't that law make it illegal for someone who's bipolar to ever have sex with anyone? That isn't clear at all.
The law is a bit vague, but I don't imagine anybody would be prosecuted for sleeping with a stable bipolar person.
I cannot tell you how angry I would be if I was about to have consenting sex wth someone and they then stopped me saying that they couldn't sleep with me because I was bipolar
Then again, looking at my past history there certainly have been occasions where I slept with someone I wouldn't have done if I hadn't been slightly messed up at the time!
You're right, "Not tonight darling, you're a bit bipolar" would never go down well.
However, somebody once said to me, "You've been very ill today and I think you are still vulnerable. If you really think sex is a good idea, we can wait another day."
Let me tell you, I was not happy about it at the time but I respected him for it in the long run.
I experienced three major mania periods of about three months each befor I was diagnosed Bipolar 1. I cultivated several lovers who didn't know about each other except they all knew I was married. I had intercourse 2 to 3 times a day. The sex was insatiable frentic and intoxicating. Binge sex without pause or relief caused the loss of thirty pounds. I slept little. The consequenses were that I gave my partners STDs, had abortions with two lovers and my wife had to have a c- section instead of regular vaginal birth to protect the baby from catching herpies ( fatal for newborn). The absolute horror was overwelming. But twice again the "I can do no wrong" delusion of mania led me into the hypersexuality cycle. It was impossible for me to forgive myself until my doctor told me that I was sick and not responsible for my actions. I have been successfully medicated for 8 years without relapse. I have a disease with legal and moral consequences in addition to the physical and emotional.
Wow - that's quite an extreme example. Glad to here you're not suffering any more.
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