should sex between consenting adults ever be illegal?

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65. but adults change what they're willing to say all the time.

prosecutors trying to build a case encounter this all the time.
as long as the victims feel in a power-under situation, they may deny any coersion.

but if the prosecutor can convince them that others have come forward, there's evidence, whatever, we're winning this case, then quite often others who previously denied coersion change their story and admit there was no consent, or at least that their arm was twisted.

and like i said, what an adult says is consent is merely one component (albeit a significant one) of determining consent. if a jury hears someone claim they consented, but then is shown multiple clear videos of incidents with obvious coersion, then the jury is highly likely to find that coersion existed.


and yes, we do have "hand-wringing busy-bodies" deciding things on a case-by-case basis. police, prosecutors, judges, and juries do it all the time. there are of course specific laws to follow, but deciding what the facts are and whether they fit the criteria of the law is certainly a case-by-case matter.

and just to be clear, the law does NOT provide that consent and an adults momentary assertion of consent are exactly the same thing. ESPECIALLY where coersion exists. obviously, if i have a gun to my head, my "consent" and my signature and my agreement are meaningless. less obvious forms of coersion exist, though, and it's up to a jury or judge to determine if consent was and is actually freely given.