Consensual crime

A consensual or victimless crime is behavior that is considered a crime, even though all of those involved in the act give consent, and no third parties suffer as a direct result.

Related Topics:
Victimless crime - Crime

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Political leaders may justify criminalizing such behavior because of indirect effects on third parties, or because of offense to cultural norms, or because the law assumes that one of the parties to the action is a "victim" despite his or her informed consent.

Related Topics:
Cultural norm - Informed consent

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Consensual crimes are often described as crimes in which the victim is the state, the juridical system, or society at large. These crimes are therefore forbidden behaviours that do not imply damage to third persons, but only affect general (sometimes ideological or cultural) interests of the system, such as common sexual morality.

Related Topics:
State - Society - Ideological - Sexual morality

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Some, particularly libertarians, consider the term victimless crime to be an oxymoron, the concept to be inconsistent or hypocritical, and begging the rhetorical question: if there is no victim, where is the crime?

Related Topics:
Libertarian - Oxymoron - Inconsistent - Hypocritical

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