When is rape not rape?

[Sehrysh]

Re: When is rape not rape?

@blackforest_360

Just because sex was consensual the first time, doesn’t mean it would be consensual the next.

Miss A consented to sex yes, but if her story is true, then during intimacy the line between consent and force was crossed because after the condom broke she did not want to go on with the act. Sounds like rape to me.

If I’m not mistaken - in this incident he was charged with sexual molestation instead of rape. Without harping on the details - the fact the she 1) consented, 2) he wore a condom as per any prior understanding, 3) they were in the middle of the act, when she changed her mind makes it a little difficult to call the act forced. Is there a point of no return for the guy and the girl after which it is no longer fair to call the act rape or molestation?

Again, same holds true Miss W. Sex the night before was fine because the act was mutual. The following morning she was sleeping and had not consented. Rape.

In this situation - having initiated sex (maybe even completed the act) with a woman who was sleeping and who had consented mere hours before, did that give him a reasonable basis to assume that her consent from the night before still stood/was valid or is he expected to ask her again? Did he have reason to believe that she would withhold her consent from a subsequent sexual encounter?

Most other crimes of rape are clear-cut - these circumstances are very nuanced and it gives rise to questioning at what point a mutual act becomes a forced act.

What I’m seeking to demonstrate is that an allegation of rape is not the same as actual rape either from a legal or moral standpoint. I think many people could argue that Assange had reason to believe that his partners had consented to the relationship.