26 May 2016
R v S [2016] NZHC 1185
- Citation
- [2016] NZHC 1185
- Court
- High Court
A judge may withdraw the common law defence of consent to a charge of wounding with intent where public policy reasons outweigh the social utility of the conduct and the value of personal autonomy; on these facts — deliberate punitive infliction of serious harm in a domestic relationship involving a vulnerable, dependent teenage partner and clear power imbalance and gender dynamics — public policy required withdrawal of the defence, leading to conviction.