Consenting Adult Action Network

Consenting Adul...'s profileConsenting Adult Action ...PhotosBlogGuestbookMore

Tools

Help

Profile

Consenting Adult Action Network

Occupation

Network of sexuality campaigners

Location

Interests

We are against all insidious and unjust laws which cause wider discrimination and criminalisation of adults who engage in informed consensual relationships with other adults.CAAN needs YOU!We’re creating many ways to join in so that everyone who wants to get involved can including behind the scenes. All consenting adults are welcome in CAAN of all orientations social groupings and genders and we can provide our information in alternative formats on request.

SIGN UP TO OUR STATEMENT! www.caan.org.uk

"We believe in the right of consenting adults to make their own sexual choices, in respect of what they do, see and enjoy alone or with other consenting adults, unhindered and unfettered by government.
"We believe that it is not the business of government to intrude into the sex lives of consenting adults."

For your freedom. And ours.

CAAN is a growing grassroots network of people fighting for the freedom of consenting adults to view, or engage in, whatever activities they wish in the privacy of their own homes. We want to reclaim our human right to privacy and a lifestyle or sexuality of our own choosing. We want you to join in, because that’s what a network is. To get our rights back and turn the tide of puritanical laws, which create harmless criminals and victimless crimes, we need to put our energies and skills together.

Against extreme and unjust laws.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=32686435923
Twitter: http://twitter.com/C_A_A_N

View profile details

Blog

June 26

The Case for Sexual Rights (CAAN Memorandum)

The Case for Sexual Rights

Memorandum, October 2008.

The Case for Sexual Rights

CAAN (Consenting Adult Action Network) was born in April 2008, in response to the present Government’s legislation concerning extreme pornography. This may be found in sections 63 to 67 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, which will soon make it illegal for individuals to possess certain erotic images which include consensual adult acts and acted-out adult fantasies. This includes materials, which despite government claims that this is in line with the Obscene Publications Act, have never been illegal to possess before in this country and put us apart in terms of lack of tolerance from the whole of the western democratic world. The text of section 63, which defines this offence, is in the Appendix.

At the time that this legislation was passing through parliament, many serious objections were put forward, by politicians and legal experts as well as concerned members of the public. This law was not founded on any evidence of harm – an objection the government eventually finessed by setting up a heavily skewed and partial “rapid evidence assessment” to prove its case: according to Human Rights lawyer, Rabinder Singh, it would breach Human Rights, both in terms of right to privacy and the right to clear understanding of the law; it would casually criminalise millions of people for doing nothing other than looking at images. Section 63 creates an offence without victims. The law makes harmless people into criminals.

What became clear was that the government was not especially interested in listening to objections. They had no direct evidence of harm caused by the material in question: rather, they argued that demand drove supply, and by criminalising demand, they would eventually cause supply to dry up. It mistakes the nature of the material on the internet, presuming it to be almost all commercially driven: moreover, for such a strategy to work would require a clampdown so wide and so draconian that it would make Prohibition look like a model of laissez-faire. Large amounts of police time will be wasted in enforcing this law.

Beyond this, what seemed to emerge, from pronouncements by Lord Hunt, was that there was a general distaste on the government benches for material that depicted non-standard sexual activity, and that the police ought to have the power to do something about it where they found evidence this was going on. It is an ethical argument that, we believe, was not very long ago applied to gay men, by individuals who were disgusted by the simple mechanics of buggery.

CAAN’s initial campaign against the extreme pornography law broadened very quickly, first into a campaign against other legislation in similar vein (most notably the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, which may bar individuals from work for mere possession of sexual material that also depicts violence); and then, against all government intervention in the bedrooms of consenting adults. If the participants are aware of the risks attached to their behaviour, we believe it is not business of the government to legislate about their sex lives.
Therefore, a campaign based originally in what is referred to as ‘the BDSM community’ has now broadened out to take in all those who resist government efforts to control how they express their sexuality. This is our statement of principles:

'We believe in the right of consenting adults to make their own sexual choices, in respect of what they do, see and enjoy alone or with other consenting adults, unhindered and unfettered by government.'

'We believe that it is not the business of government to intrude into the sex lives of consenting adults.'

Origins vs. Choices: Being vs. Doing

It has been suggested that individuals ought not to be penalised for their origins; however, their choices may be “fair game”. We see this argument as creating an entirely false dichotomy – as well as apparently advocating the philosophy of biological determinism, which human rights and equality campaigners have fought against for many years.

We agree that it is wrong to treat an individual differently merely on the basis of some facet of their appearance or biology, or the accident of their birth. Such discrimination still occurs and should always be opposed. However, we suspect that even more discrimination is now founded on what the law regards as indirect discrimination: treating individuals differently because of choices that they as individuals make and which are more likely to be made by individuals possessing a particular group characteristic.

Women tend to get pregnant: they therefore tend to take time out of work. Is their availability for work a choice? Clearly, there are significant strands of political opinion that would argue that it is – and therefore that the gender gap when it comes to pay is also as much the result of individual choice as discrimination against origin. The law of this country rightly discourages discrimination on those grounds, however.

Whether the origins of BDSM and fetish sexuality are genetic or not, there is very strong evidence that they are hardwired in by early socialising. By the time an individual reaches adulthood, they can as easily deny their sexual nature in this way as a gay person can deny theirs.

Nonetheless, we would argue against this simplistic classification of individuals according to what they “are”. Is a gay person a homosexual when they are celibate: is an individual who spends most of their life indulging in heterosexual activity – and then has one homosexual encounter – to be classed as “gay”?   These are labels and, like any other labels, limited in their reach. We think that what we should also be focussed on is what individuals do – not just what they supposedly “are”. If what they do does not cause direct and non-consensual harm to others, then we do not see any reason why those activities need to be policed.

The government’s stance at present is very reminiscent of those who once were anti-homosexual. They have a view of what a sexual ‘pervert’ looks like, do not like it, and are against people carrying that label. This way, intolerance lies.

The reasons why people need kinky sex are irrelevant. The only justification for restricting sexuality is the possibility of non-consensual harm to others. There is no evidence that involvement in kinky sex does increase the risk of such non-consensual harm.

The effects of de-liberalisation: the “rights of others”

The question has been posed: “How does giving individuals the right to express their sexuality freely impact on others?” It is sometimes couched in elitist terms: perhaps it is OK for a few individuals to express themselves freely, but what happens when the “hoi polloi” – the unwashed masses – have the temerity to take up this right for themselves?

Again, we would argue that this is the wrong question. It stems from an analysis that is based on prudery and a sort of bowdlerised feminism, rather than any evidence. This is the idea that society – and individuals – always progress from bad to worse: that social interaction consists of a series of slippery slopes, and that once an individual embarks down one, the end is both inevitable and awful.

It is amazing how closely this argument mirrors texts of the 1930’s, warning young men (and boy scouts) of the evils that attended masturbation (or “beastliness”). It starts with masturbation – but before you know it, you are having other ideas, and will without doubt end up as an utter deviant. It would be important if there was even a shred of evidence to support it – but there isn’t.

Or rather, individuals already convicted of sexual crimes often confess to a gradual slide into depravity. What else would one expect? That a serial killer wakes up one morning and decides that that is what they wish to be? Longitudinal studies across years and involving overall criminal statistics suggest that far from sexual libertarianism leading to more crime, it tends to be associated with reduced numbers of sexual offences being committed; one notable example being the study by Berl Kutchinsky [i], which recorded a drop in sex crimes following the legalisation of pornography in Denmark in 1969.

The question – “how can we justify relaxing the law on sexual activity?” – perhaps should be turned the other way: how can some individuals justify tightening the law in this area when there is strong evidence that the result will be more individuals raped, assaulted and killed? That aside, we believe the question about how upholding the sexual rights of an individual might affect others is the wrong question. The more important question is, what affect failing to uphold these rights is likely to have on society as a whole.

There are two answers to this. The first lies in a judgment handed down by the US Supreme Court in In 2001[ii], in respect of proposed restrictions on film, designed to attack the child porn industry. They eventually held that although the intention of the proposed law was benign, its negative effects – in particular, its chilling effect on speech – was a sufficient harm to the whole of society for them to reject it.

Second, a Law Commission Report on BDSM – Consent and the Law, 1995[iii] – held that maintaining the status quo, with tough laws against BDSM and related activity was counter-productive. In addition to being a blackmailer’s charter, the law had two pernicious effects:
-          individuals involved in the BDSM “scene” would be less likely to assist police with any inquiries;
-          members of the BDSM community would adopt a more confrontational attitude towards policing.

We would argue that both these negative effects – the general chilling of speech and the alienation of the BDSM community from the authorities – are now well underway. Tragically, the chilling effect is beginning to be seen in the taking down of sites that educated individuals toward expressing their sexuality safely.

The end result of the government clampdown is likely to be not a reduction in harm, but a serious increase in it.

References:

[i] Studies on Pornography and sex crimes in Denmark – Berl Kutchinsky, University of Copenhagen (New Social Science Monographs, Denmark 1970)

[ii] Supreme Court Of The United States: Ashcroft, Attorney General, et al. v. Free Speech Coalition et al. Certiorari to The United States Court Of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 00—795. Argued October 30, 2001–Decided April 16, 2002

[iii] The Law Commission: Consultation Paper No 139, 1995 – Consent in the Criminal Law:   para 10.39
Appendix

Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 section 63
63 Possession of extreme pornographic images
(1) It is an offence for a person to be in possession of an extreme pornographic image.
(2) An “extreme pornographic image” is an image which is both—
(a) pornographic, and
(b) an extreme image.
(3) An image is “pornographic” if it is of such a nature that it must reasonably be assumed to have been produced solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal.
(4) Where (as found in the person’s possession) an image forms part of a series of images, the question whether the image is of such a nature as is mentioned in subsection (3) is to be determined by reference to—
(a) the image itself, and
(b) (if the series of images is such as to be capable of providing a context for the image) the context in which it occurs in the series of images.
(5) So, for example, where—
(a) an image forms an integral part of a narrative constituted by a series of images, and
(b) having regard to those images as a whole, they are not of such a nature that they must reasonably be assumed to have been produced solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal,
the image may, by virtue of being part of that narrative, be found not to be pornographic, even though it might have been found to be pornographic if taken by itself.
(6) An “extreme image” is an image which—
(a) falls within subsection (7), and
(b) is grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise of an obscene character.
(7) An image falls within this subsection if it portrays, in an explicit and realistic way, any of the following—
(a) an act which threatens a person’s life,
(b) an act which results, or is likely to result, in serious injury to a person’s anus, breasts or genitals,
(c) an act which involves sexual interference with a human corpse, or
(d) a person performing an act of intercourse or oral sex with an animal (whether dead or alive),
and a reasonable person looking at the image would think that any such person or animal was real.
(8) In this section “image” means—
(a) a moving or still image (produced by any means); or
(b) data (stored by any means) which is capable of conversion into an image within paragraph (a).
(9) In this section references to a part of the body include references to a part surgically constructed (in particular through gender reassignment surgery).
(10) Proceedings for an offence under this section may not be instituted—
(a) in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions; or
(b) in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

8:46 PM | Permalink | Blog it | Organizations

May 05

Report of London protest 7th May 2008 - the day CAAN was born

REPORT- 7^th May 2008

Protest against banning

consensual BDSM imagery.

Concerned members of the public took their lobbying to the streets yesterday outside the British Library and Houses of Parliament, in advance of the Royal Assent of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill.

Protestors at the British Library talked to a journalist from Radio 1. Showing her an image from Madonna's book SEX, they talked about how they weren't sure if some posed photographs in Madonna's book might be illegal, due to the vague wording of significant parts of sections 62-64 of the Bill and the lack of clarity about how this law is going to be interpreted in court. One person commented “I can't seek advice from a solicitor every time I look at an erotic image!”. Leaflets were peacefully shared with people entering and leaving the Library while a few protestors moved outside to symbolically burn a page from a book they believe likely to be banned under the new law.

Later the demonstration moved to Parliament Square, where objectors distributed more leaflets and cheered as passing cars honked their horns to show support at their placards being waved. Small crowds also gathered as two women staged a pink-fluffy-handcuffing and 'strangulation' on the Parliament railings, as their interpretation of the kind of things the government's definition of 'extreme' might include, were it similarly acted out in a pornographic setting.

Campaigners believe that it not the Law's business to dictate what images consenting adults may choose to view for the purposes of arousal if no actual crime is taking place in that image, and are surprised the government has made no clear distinction between actual and staged scenarios.

During the House of Lords debate on 30 April, Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer described this move as: “truly the domain of the thought police. These clauses are the state entering the bedrooms and minds of citizens before they commit any crime that involves harm to another human being.” Baroness Howe of Idlicote and others in both Houses of Parliament have called for a Parliamentary Select Committee to be set up to inquire into “New Media and Violence” and consider what changes need to be made to the Criminal Justice Bill before Section 62 is enacted.

For further information, please contact:
John Chew.

Clair Lewis

A NEW NETWORK IS FORMING FOR TAKING ACTION.

More demonstrations are planned until the CJIA is enforced, stopped or we are assured that images of consensual activities between adults will not result in prison sentences.

For more information email Consenting Adult Action Network at

c-a-a-n@live.co.uk or visit the webpage at http://consentingadultactionnet.spaces.live.com/

For more information about the CJIA:

See Backlash at www.backlash-uk.org.uk and http://www.seenoevil.org.uk/ This domain is provided by Backlash as an independent platform for the discussion of the proposed UK law on the possession of 'extreme pornography'. It consists of a wiki and discussion forums.

1:57 PM | Permalink | Blog it | News and politics

May 04

CAAN Newsletter 6 - April 2009

Apologies firstly for the slide this month from mid-month to late(ish) in the month…blame it on my birthday, blame it on easter hols, blame it on the boogie.

The big story this month that we took delight in was of course regarding Mr Smith-Timneys porn habits. CAAN haven’t yet written to Mr Smith-Timney but once the dust has settled we will, you had to feel sorry for the poor bloke being publically humiliated. (or maybe that’s his kink).

CAAN Scotland

The CAAN Scotland page has now been updated and CAAN would very much like to keep the pressure on north of the border…. If you haven’t written a letter to your MSP…have a go.

Regarding the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill: extreme porn: Tell them you want it struck from the books because “realistic” includes consensual activity, and that it is unreasonable to have a photo only be legal in your own possession. Scotland has made great strides in protecting the rights of consenting adults, but they still fall far too short on several issues.

Regarding the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill: missing sadomasochism clause: Tell them if they really want to stick it to Westminster, they should accept the Scottish Law Commission’s recommendation that sadomasochism be decriminalised. It will simplify the law books, improve precedence on how consent is established, allow for stronger convictions against domestic violence inside of sadomasochism, and allow sadomasochists the same sexual freedom as everyone else.

Fear of the unfamiliar is not a good reason to ban something.
Personal taste is not a good reason to ban something.
Bigotry is not a good reason to ban something.

Right now, these are the problems we face. And we must combat them through education and information,

CAAN is continuing the Send a Kinky Book to an MSP Campaign. Choose books that will educate and inform, and when you send it, emphasise that consenting adults should not be vilified. Recommended titles include BDSM how-to books such as “Screw the Roses, Send me the Thorns”, BDSM self-help books such as “When Someone You Know is Kinky” and non-fiction such as Niki Flynn’s “Dances with Werewolves”. Explain why you sent the book and what you think they should learn from it. 12 copies of “Dances with Werewolves” have been sent through CAAN, and any number of books by individuals. Sent a book? Got a response? Let us know!

CAAN Scotland now have a stack of leaflets. We have had several requests from people who would like to distribute them in their place of business, university, club or even among friends, so jump on the bandwagon and help spread the word!

If you think you could distribute some leaflets for CAAN Scotland or contact them for any other reason please write to info@caan.org.uk making it clear the email is FAO CAAN scotland

Meanwhile Mr Harvie continues to be the voice of consenting adults in the Scottish parliament, with this short article in The Scotsman. Shame there isn’t an MP with as much gumption in the rest of the UK.

And it’s all go in Scotland at the moment with Scotlands trade union congress calling for the abolition of "outrageous" advertisement of sex industry vacancies by Jobcentre Plus, amid fears that rising unemployment could see vulnerable women lured by the promise of lucrative earnings.

A co-ordinated campaign by human rights group Object, the Feminist Coalition against Prostitution, and women's rights group Eaves, has branded UK job centres as "Pimp Centre Plus" in protest against the growing numbers of "exploitative" posts on offer.

See the full story here.

Trafficking

And that (and the mere mention of Eaves) I suppose leads us on to issues of trafficking, much in the press over the last month as the European Convention on Action against Human trafficking takes effect this month. On one hand we are led to believe that there are trafficked women under all our beds (there would have to be given the numbers quoted) heres a typical article by Rahila Gupta followed swiftly by this article by Belinda Brooks-Gordon which is a pretty good debunking of the usual feminista froth and fury.

(Still with the Eaves Projects dodgy figures in mind) Another fabulous article by John Oz at El Reg appeared over the Easter weekend about the dodgy statistics and research behind the governments legislation based on morality if you didn’t catch it then, please take a few minutes to read it, its long….but crammed with good stuff. Including a mention of the ‘spat’ CAAN have been having with the EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) over the last few months.

CAAN and the EHRC

Since our national convenor Clair Lewis attended the Labour conference up in Manchester and put a question to Trevor Philips about alternative sexualites we have been trying to get some clarification to the answers he gave her. We seem to have reached something of an impasse, having received a dismissive, posibly hypocritical response from their director of Policy, Andrea Murray, to the effect that when they talk about people’s “orientation”, they mean their “orientation”.

This they have insisted is as plain as the nose on one’s face and not capable of further argument. In much the same way as some fundamentalist groups might uphold people’s right to “have sex”, and then insist that by “having sex”, they mean “having sex”. Whadya mean? Gay sex? Obviously, THAT isn’t having sex…

And so we go on. The only further clue we got, a few months back, was Trevor suggesting that they existed to protect the rights of people who were ‘born a certain way’, as opposed to those who had chosen their sexuality. Does anyone else get this as ever so slightly patronising? The EHRC will support the rights of homosexuals because the poor dears can’t help it: not because the EHRC has any great commitment to the rights of individuals to their own personal sexuality.

The problem with the EHRC response so far is that it is like so many bureaucratic responses. The pen-pusher concerned doesn’t really seem to have given the issue much thought: it is so “obvious” to her that “orientation” is, well, about “orientation to people”, that she appears to believe she only needs to repeat this mantra for every one else to fall into line.

The problem is that as far as we are concerned, that it is only some people – maybe not even the majority – for whom orientation is based on gender-attraction (whether homo, hetero or bi). If the EHRC are going to support the rights of people attracted to a specific gender then why not people attracted to say…cars… sadists….leather…etc etc

And if they’re seriously not going to uphold those rights, then a rather fuller explanation than the pathetic circular argument they have been giving us is definitely owed.

The sexual spectrum is far wider than a three horse race (hmm…which Labour MP had a fetish for horses)? And for an organisation who claim to push boundaries in what they support its appalling their views on sexuality are so narrow.

Of course they also deal with Human Rights as well as equality, and we are therefore informing them of the way in which the Extreme Porn law breaches articles 8 and 10 of the Human Rights Act.

We’d like CAAN supporters to let the EHRC know what we think of an organisation who only fights for equality for specific groupings and who seem to revel in their blinkered bigotry.

CAAN will be pushing the EHRC on this issue….in various ways. Help us by writing a letter and then hopefully we’ll see some of you at whatever actions we end up organising. Write to Andrea Murray, Director of Policy, Andrea.Murray@equalityhumanrights.com

It wouldn’t hurt to point out to her this important case, now pending in Canada.

National Union of Students

Another pleasant surprise at CAAN’s underground bunker was that ‘someone’ (thanks…we love you proactive types) has stuck a motion into the NUS conference being held in Nottingham on 24^th April.

Its Motion Number: 404 and reads as below (there may be a possible ammendment to it which we are attempting to oppose)

NUS Motion Heading: BDSM Rights: An LGBT Issue

Conference Believes:

1. That BDSM refers to the practice, orientation or lifestyle of Bondage and
Discipline, Domination and Submission, Sado-Masochism and related
activities.
2. That many activities that consensual BDSM practitioners participate in are
illegal under current UK law.
3. The Criminal Justice Act 2008 outlaws various forms of “extreme”
pornograpy.
4. BDSM Liberation organisations such as CAAN (the Consenting Adults
Action Network) have spoken out against this legislation.
5. The Government's consultation document for the Criminal Justice Act
(2008), clearly states that research has found no causal link between
exposure to violent sexual imagery, and propensity to commit violent
sexual acts.
6. The forthcoming extreme pornography law in Scotland is even more
restrictive and criminalising than the Criminal Justice Act (2008)
7. That the Consenting Adult Action Network (CAAN) statement of principle,
which reads:
“We believe in the right of consenting adults to make their own sexual
choices, in respect of what they do, see and enjoy alone or with other
consenting adults, unhindered and unfettered by government. We believe
that it is not the business of government to intrude into the sex lives of
consenting adults.”
Conference Further Believes
1. That children, and non-consenting adults, need to be protected from being
the victims of sexual activity
2. Activities that take place between consenting adults behind closed doors
are not the business of government.
3. That LGBT people are more likely than heterosexual and/or cis people to
be victimised in matters pertaining to sex and pornography -
demonstrated in cases such as R vs Brown where gay men received
disproportionate punishment - whilst straight, heteronormative couples are
often let off by judges.
4. “Pornographic” BDSM imagery is often instrumental in educating BDSM
practitioners in safe sex practices.
5. That policy on censorship must be equal and evidence-based .

Conference Resolves:

1. To campaign against the forthcoming censorship laws in Scotland as being
unjustly criminalising of consenting adults.
2. To sign up as an organisation to CAAN's statement of principle in solidarity
with BDSM rights activists.
3. To inform NUS LGBT membership about issues pertaining to censorship
and pornography, and specifically how they affect LGBT people.

MISH MASH

Another snippet from across the pond that scared the jiggers out of us was the proposal to ban pornography involving anyone over 60 or anyone with a disability, we were relieved on one hand to learn it was in a single US state but on the other hand its ideas like that that the labour government seem to enjoy latching onto…any excuse to stop consulting adults getting their jollies. And here is a pretty good debunking of it at Heresy Corner.

Also noticed by a keen eyed supporter was our very own page on the fast emerging Sexipedia which at the moment is in ‘public beta’ (whatever that means)…but I suspect its somethng you techies could go and contribute to (even if its just to round out the CAAN page)

Oh and a film of the Home Affairs committee talking about Knife crime (an interesting debate from March 24 with some mention of desentisization to violence and violent porn; between mins 7 and 13)…our old mukka Martin Salter MP is there and we are pleased to see he’s still proving himself a total tit with his long held belief in snuff movies.

On a more serious note, we were reminded that April 23 marks the death, three years ago, of Adrian Exley. Amidst all the politician-inspired debate about “protecting us from harm”, his family and friends have continued in quiet dignity, campaigning for greater education around bdsm – and arguing, simply, that as people will always have kinky sex, information, not censorship, is the best way to keep them safe. For more information, take a look at the Adrian Exley Foundation

Thanks to everyone who send us interesting links and mentions of CAAN…keep them coming and if anyone wants to elaborate on something and write a paragraph or two for the newsletter it’d be on the whole gratefully received (with the usual provisos that we can’t put everything in the newsletter and reserve the right to unashamedly pick and choose).

It’s a while since I newslettered all CAANs various links so here goes… keep in touch with us as any of the following….

And finally….

A few of you have been asking what happened to Consent 2009 and we have to admit that we are under resourced to get such an ambitious project up and running this year. It looks like we have several people with relevant skills to organise it but as an ‘organisation’ we need to get our proverbial shit together regarding money as we still havn’t made it into bank account territory.

Apologies to those who showed mucho enthusiasm and hopefully we’ll be back in touch.

Please forward this newsletter to anyone who you think may be interested and please encourage people to visit our website and sign up to the CAAN statement.

"We believe in the right of consenting adults to make their own sexual choices, in respect of what they do, see and enjoy alone or with other consenting adults, unhindered and unfettered by government."

"We believe that it is not the business of government to intrude into the sex lives of consenting adults."

- Sign up here

11:28 PM | Permalink | Blog it | News and politics

March 29

CAAN PRESS RELEASE & LETTER: Porn-purchasing in the Home Secretary’s household

PRESS RELEASE

Clair Lewis, national convenor for Consenting Adult Action Networs (CAAN), today reflected on the irony of Jacqui Smith being caught out over the porn habits of her own husband and issued an invitation to the Home Secretary and her husband to sign up to CAAN’s statement of aims (below). This endorses the right of individuals not to be pilloried for legitimate sexual activity between adults.

Clair Lewis said: “It is ironic that Jacqui Smith, who has done more than almost any other politician to meddle in the private sex lives of consenting adults, should be placed in this position. We would hesitate to suggest it was richly deserved.

“If public money has been misused, then Ms Smith and her husband must face the consequences: however, the sexual focus, whilst no doubt titillating, is really not relevant.

“CAAN works to protect consenting adults from having their lives wrecked by this type of press voyeurism.

“We shall therefore be contacting Richard Timney - and also his wife - to see if they would now agree that what adults get up to in the privacy of their own bedrooms is not the business of either government or an over-intrusive press, and whether they would now be prepared to sign up to our statement of aims on this issue."

Further Information:

Web site: www.caan.org.uk

CAAN statement:
"We believe in the right of consenting adults to make their own sexual choices, in respect of what they do, see and enjoy alone or with other consenting adults, unhindered and unfettered by government.
"We believe that it is not the business of government to intrude into the sex lives of consenting adults."

LETTER TO THE PRESS

It would be inaccurate – not to say stretching credulity – to claim that the shadow of a smile did not cross our lips this morning. As Home Secretary and as part of this puritan government, Jacqui Smith has done more than almost anyone to meddle with and regulate the sexual choices made by consenting adults in private. There is therefore a most delicious irony to find her hoist by her own petard.

So it was her husband who may have been watching certain material? Tough! We deal daily with the wreckage made of peoples’ lives by a prurient government and a salacious press.

Let’s get this clear: if Jacqui’s husband or if Jacqui herself committed a fraud or financial offence, then she is probably not fit to be Home Secretary. A mistake with expenses? Tell that to those prosecuted daily for benefit fraud.

But the sexual angle, fun though it is, has nothing to do with this. We believe that consenting adults should have the right to do as they please with one another in the privacy of their own homes, providing full and free consent is given. Sex is not something to be ashamed of: nor is it the business of government or media.

It may be a little late in the day, but if Jacqui or her husband, even now, are prepared to own up to the error of their censorious ways, they would be most welcome aboard the UK’s largest and fastest-growing campaign for personal sexual freedom.

Clair Lewis,
National Convenor
Consenting Adult Action Network
info@caan.org.uk

http://www.caan.org.uk

7:53 PM | Read comments (1) | Permalink | Blog it | News and politics

March 24

CAAN newsletter 5 - March 2009

Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill (Scotland)

The campaign to get Scotland to see sense where the rest of the UK failed is coming on a pace. Last week Becky Dwyer and Alexandra McGregor from CAAN Scotland talked with the Sexual Offences team and also had an infinitely more helpful meeting, with Patrick Harvie who has been working to protect the rights of consenting adults in Scottish legislation in his work as an MSP(Green Party). Mr Harvey has spoken with Kenny MacAskill regarding the extreme pornography section of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill (published 6 March, now entering stage 1), and is working on placing an amendment into the Sexual Offenses Bill (now in stage 2) stating that the government should not prosecute cases where consent is not contested (where both adults consent). He understands the challenges that face people involved in BDSM, and recognises that this is not a topic where people feel free to step forward (public and MSP). He agrees in principle to CAAN’s general aims and that discrimination against BDSM paractitioners should not happen, comparing it to the situation of LGBT in the 60's. He is already familiar with Backlash, Spanner Trust, Feminists Against Censorship, and now CAAN (unlike the Scottish civil servants advising on this law, who had never heard of Spanner).

CAAN encourages all organisations who share concerns about the extreme pornography proposal to speak with Mr Harvie. Individuals who have concerns about anonymity should write to him as well, because we feel he would be sympathetic towards these fears of job loss, etc.

The CJLB has now been published (the relevant part on extreme porn starts on page 56)

And article on Scottish porn law from John Ozimek at The Register

There are several ways in which Scotland's law is far broader than the CJIA:

Inclusion of depictions of "non-consensual" images (even if actually consensual).

Covers acts likely to result in severe injury to any part of the body. (not just genitals breasts and anus as in the CJIA)

In defining "pornographic", the Scottish bill also includes the phrase "and the sounds accompanying it". One the one hand, this might work in our favour as an "academic" soundtrack might indicate that the image isn't for pornographic purposes. However, it might also work against us as a plain ordinary consensual sex act (normally legal) might, with the wrong soundtrack, be considered rape, and hence, illegal.

The possibility of a defence that an act was consensual - which was already highly limited and at the court’s discretion in the English version - is not available in the Scottish version. This leads to the ridiculous situation of it only being legal to have images of yourself. A consenting committed couple may not be able to even have photos of each other. So much for 'not targeting consenting adults'.

Animal carcases are now included, and the animals clause now covers any "sexual activity". Not something that concerns a bunch of consenting adults but it will be interesting to find out if how broad ‘carcase’ is…does it include carcass based products…will pictures of erotic sausage eating be illegal to possess…or the wearing of leather or fur in a sexual context?

There is plenty of discussion of the law on Informed Consent and the seenoevil forum.

As I write we haven’t yet had a chance to update the Scotland page on the CAAN website but if you go to the new ‘What you can do right now’ page there are plenty of ways to join in opposing the CJLB.

Coroners and JusticE Bill (CARTOON LAW)

The comic book alliance seem to be slowly gaining momentum. There is the obligatory number10 petition which is gathering speed and a facebook ‘supporters of the comic book alliance’ page. We urge you all to spread the word about the direct effect this law will have on artists like Trevor Brown and Alan Moore and the far wider chilling effect it will have on artists, cartoonists and collectors. Read literally it could even affect works by people like Aubrey Beardsley. The government may claim its not ‘supposed to’ affect them…. In which case the government should write clearer and less encompassing legislation!

Finally on the CJB Simon Darkangel did a piece for Youtube, and like his video on the extreme porn law, its worth a watch.

Ending violence against women and girls (consultation)

Beyond the blatant gender bias of this piece of populist gimickry one wouldn’t think it has anything to do with consenting adults… domestic violence is by its very nature non-consensual. The worrying thing perhaps for the BDSM community (and anyone else who likes a bit of consensual violence in the morning) is that this consultation talks about not condoning violence in any context and teaching children about ‘normal’ non-violent relationships.

Perhaps somewhere in the mix it needs pointing out that for some adults, in private, some level of violence is ‘normal’, acceptable and totally consensual.

Convention of Modern Liberty

Enough of legislation and on to the Convention of Modern Liberty that took place at the end of February at locations across the uk.

I attended the Cambridge event (my most local one) and went to a lively debate on internet censorship chaired by John Ozimek from the Register, with Sarah Robertson(IWF), Frank Fisher (blogger), Dr. Belinda Brooks-Gordon (Birkbeck), Alex Dymock (Backlash) as speakers.

Both Frank and John went on to speak from the floor at the afternoon session on loss of civil liberties and Frank is a great proponent of Freedom of Speech and John (seemingly returning to politics after a long gap) spoke about the fact that political activism is very different from when he was last involved in that people are afraid to speak out and to get involved and that is something he picks up very clearly from those involved with sexual politics.

Up in Manchester CAAN ran a workshop on ‘The slippery slope of government legislation against sex’ The session was run by Lucy McAlister and aided and abetted by Clair Lewis.

I probably can’t improve on Clair’s own words from the day which appeared as a guest blog on Heresy Corner. And the event was also attended by Ally Fogg who wrote up the event for Comment is Free and Tony Holden who writes ‘Cynical Chatter from the Underworld’ and responded to the day with this piece.

Further coverage of the event can be found at http://www.modernliberty.net/

Lucy and Clair at Convention on Modern Liberty (Manchester) Photo by Tony Holden

INTRODUCING…

Whilst we are on the subject of Clair, we thought over the coming months we might introduce you to some of the many people active in CAAN and we may as well start with Clair who if you believe the rumours runs CAAN single handedly from an underground nerve centre in South Manchester...reclined in her four-poster bed, stroking a fluffy pussy and plotting against government oppression….

Clair Lewis is CAAN's thirty six year old National Covenor and when asked what exactly that means she says she's the first person standing in the line of fire and taking the blame for things. She's certainly the person who you are most likely to have seen speaking in the national media on behalf of the Consenting Adult Action Network. Clair is the face of CAAN but she's also a single parent (of three) and a human rights activist with over a decade's experience in the UK Disabled people's movement as a campaigner, musician, protestor and occasional advocate, writer and artist.

photo by Steve Allen

In respect of her campaigning with CAAN she describes herself as uncompromising and says she "came out out as kinky" because she has had enough of the demonisation, persecution and criminalisation of people with alternative sexualities and is sick of feeling forced to be in the closet because she engages in consensual loving adult BDSM relationships.

She is also CAAN's activism co-ordinator, drawing from her wealth of experience with DAN, the Disabled people's Direct Action Network, in organising CAAN protests, but says she has already learnt things from her time with CAAN that she can use elsewhere, so the two sides to her campaigning feed into each other. Most recently she used the social networking and press techniques honed with CAAN to lead a public outcry against complaints about Cerrie Burnell the disabled CBeebies presenter, starting a group of supporters with 70,000 members (and still growing!) who have now sent thousands of letters to the BBC and the press.

photo by Richard Downes (DAN)
She is certainly a person with a great deal of passion and energy for the issues and people she cares about.

Speaking about the legislation CAAN opposes, she is crystal clear that if there was any proof that any of the legislation would actually stop abuse and harm to any measurable degree she would be supporting it, but she believes that unfortunately the overall effect will be the exact opposite. As well as harmless people being put in jail and on the sex offender register, Clair believes consenting adults in a variety of sexual relationships are going to suffer from this legislation...suffer, be harmed and in some cases die, due to lack of information and isolation caused by fear of the further criminalisation of people with interests the government just believe to be distateful.

Clair Lewis, aka Dennis to her friends, is a believer in people building their power and pride by joining in with fighting back when we are under attack...and most importantly she acts as a catalyst putting that belief firmly into action.

She's an Aries, her favourite colour is black and the random fact about herself she'd like to share is: "I am reinventing the concept of the 'armchair activist' by admitting that I do nearly all this campaign work from my four poster bed." [Editor’s note…she just doesn’t like to mention the underground nerve centre]

You are very welcome to follow Clair on Facebook Twitter LiveJournal and MySpace

Consent 2009

Thanks to everyone who sent in offers of help, support and suggestions and hopefully we got back to everyone –even if it was just to say ‘hold that offer we’re not that organised yet’

It looks like the event will be happening in London as that’s where we get the best chance of national press coverage and the date is looking more like June than May as first intended ……further details will follow shortly!

And final mish mash…

Another more off the wall idea of how you can help CAAN is to apply to ‘win a stint on the Fourth plinth’ in Trafalgar Square. It would be great to have someone up there wielding a CAAN placard…or people displaying their fetishistic inclinations..or even both. You can register your interest now and automatically receive an email when applications start in April. More details of what its all about are here.

I thought I’d share a Youtube clip with you all that hasn’t much to do with Consenting Adult Action network at all…. But a lot to do with Labour’s attitude to freedom of speech. Keith Vaz with his ‘if you want freedom of speech you can get on a plane and do it elsewhere’ appearance on Newsnight….

CAAN notices that he’s a mate of Martin ‘the snuff meister’ Salter, who rather controversially proposed him as Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee… one begins to see what they teach them at NuLabour charm school.

This months ‘Index on Censorship’ is focusing on defining obscenity and has some interesting looking articles and writers like Julian Petley and John Ozimek. I haven’t managed to get hold of a copy yet (living in the middle of nowhere) but you can read several articles for free here.

Finally,thanks also to all those facebook members who at last sussed that being a member there doesn’t automatically sign you to the CAAN statement:

"We believe that it is not the business of government to intrude into the sex lives of consenting adults." - Sign up here

Please pass the word on about signing the statement and feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone who might be interested.

2:57 PM | Permalink | Blog it | sexuality

View more entries

Guestbook

Please get involved in any way you can.

	Consenting Adult Action Net...wrote: hey thanks :-) Mar. 29
	kazi muradwrote: I appreciate your point of view and wood like to support you from my heart. Oct. 12
	Consenting Adult Action Net...wrote: Hey Kevin thanks for your support! We'll be taking further action very soon so watch this blog for updates. De, for CAAN Oct. 1
	KEVIN BURCTOOLLAwrote: hello how are you today. you have my support. it quacks, they don't kown what they doing. and they make it wose. here two web site. www.wisdomofwhores.com and www.counterknowledge.com Sept. 27
	Consenting Adult Action Net...wrote: Ohh thanks Katie! You are SO right! Yep weird shaped vegetables, (and dirty thoughts) might well be next, we reckon it's time to put our collective feet down about it! Watch out for our new website to be launched soon and a campaign statement we will be appealing to all organisations, ministers, councillors, and individuals to sign up to about the freedom of consenting adults to do as they please together in privacy. DE For CAAN Sept. 10