As a reminder, consent may never be given by minors (in Massachusetts, those not yet 16 years of age), mentally disabled persons, and those who are incapacitated as a result of alcohol or other drug consumption (voluntary or involuntary) or those who are unconscious, unaware, or otherwise physically helpless. Consent as a result of coercion, intimidation, threat of force or force is not effective consent. Consent cannot be assumed because of previous relationships or sexual activities, and the absence of "no" is not the same thing as consent.
順便提醒一下，未成年人（在馬薩諸塞州，指的是那些還未滿16歲者）、智障人士、因自願或非自願酗酒或服用其他藥物而喪失行為能力者，以及因失去意識、意識不清或因其他原因身體無法行動者，決不能給予性交同意。因受到脅迫、恐嚇、暴力威脅或遭受暴力而做出的性交同意不屬於有效同意。不能因為以前的性關係或性行為而假定當事人同意性交，當事人沒有說“不”不等於同意。
Below are some examples of situations that illustrate some of the gray areas of consent.
Example 1:
Jennifer and John met at the movies. They started to date on and off for about a month. One night, Jennifer and John went out drinking. After the bars closed, they went to Jennifer's room in her hall. John was very drunk and engaged in sex with Jennifer despite her protests. John argues that even if he might have had nonconsensual sex with Jennifer, it's not his fault because of how drunk he was. He believes he was so drunk he didn't even know he was having sex with her, let alone that it was something she did not want.
下面這些情況可以讓大家略微感知一下性交同意的模糊之處。
例1：
詹妮弗和約翰在電影院相識。兩人斷斷續續約會了約莫一個月。一天晚上，詹妮弗和約翰出去喝酒。酒吧關門後，他們去了珍妮弗的大學宿舍。喝得爛醉的約翰不顧詹妮弗的抗議，與她發生了性關係。約翰辯稱，因為自己喝多了，所以即使他可能和詹妮弗發生了非自願性關係，他也沒有過錯。他認為在喝醉的情況下，他甚至不知道自己和她發生了性關係，更不知道她不想發生關係。
John has committed a violation of the Sexual Misconduct policy. Intoxication at a party is no excuse for violation of the Sexual Misconduct policy. If it were, drunken people could be excused for drunk driving, because they were so drunk they didn't realize they were driving. Further, Sexual Misconduct is not an-intent based infraction. Whether or not John intended to commit Sexual Misconduct is irrelevant. The fact that he had sex with her without her consent is sufficient to satisfy the elements of the offense.
根據大學校規的規定， 約翰的行為構成了不當性行為。聚會醉酒不可成為不當性行為的藉口。如果可以的話，可以原諒醉酒的人酒後駕車，因為他們爛醉如泥，根本意識不到自己在開車。此外，不當性行為不是基於意圖的違法行為。約翰是否打算犯下不當性行為無關緊要。他未經她同意與她發生性關係，這一事實足以構成犯罪要件。
Example 2:
When Claudia and Timothy first met, their relationship was tumultuous. At first, Timothy didn’t want to have sex with Claudia because he felt like too many people would find out. She kept trying to convince him. She implied that if Timothy did not sleep with her, she would break up with him. Timothy finally gave in and had sex with Claudia. Several months later after speaking with some friends, he realized he had been coerced.
例2：
克勞迪婭（Claudia）和蒂莫西（Timothy）初次見面時，他們的關係很不合。 起初，蒂莫西（Timothy）不想與克勞迪婭（Claudia）發生性關係，因為他害怕大家發現。 她一直試圖說服他。 她暗示，如果蒂莫西不和她一起睡，她就會和他分手。 蒂莫西終於屈服了，並與克勞迪婭發生了性關係。 幾個月後，與一些朋友交談後，他意識到克勞迪婭當初的行為是對自己的脅迫。
Timothy did not consent to Claudia of his own free will. Whenever a threat is used to make someone consent, it is an invalid consent because it is forced. Consent should be given when the parties want to have sex with each other. Timothy consented not because he wanted to have sex with Claudia but because he feared that she would break up with him. This is another example of a Sexual Misconduct policy violation.
蒂莫西並沒有自願與克勞迪婭發生性關係。 當威脅被用來徵得某人的同意時，這種同意便是是無效的，因為這種同意是不是自願做出的。 當雙方希望彼此發生性關係時，應徵得對方同意。 蒂莫西之所以同意發生關係，並不是因為他想和克勞迪婭發生性關係，而是因為他擔心她會和他分手。 根據大學校規規定，這屬於不端性行為的另一案例。
Example 3:
Jiang is a third year student, and Sophia is a second year student. Jiang comes to Sophia's room in her hall with some mutual friends to watch a movie. Jiang and Sophia, who have never met before, are attracted to each other. After the movie, everyone leaves and Jiang and Sophia are alone. They hit it off and are soon becoming more intimate. They start to make out. Jiang verbally expresses her desire to have sex with Sophia. Sophia, who was abused by a babysitter when she was five, and has not had sexual intercourse before, is shocked at how quickly things are progressing. As Jiang takes her by the wrist over to the bed, lays her down, undresses her, and begins to have intercourse with her, Sophia has a severe flashback to her childhood trauma. She wants to tell Jiang to stop, but cannot. Sophia is stiff and unresponsive during the intercourse.
例3：
江是大三學生，索菲婭是大二學生。 江和一些朋友，同時也是索菲婭的朋友，到索菲亞的宿舍看電影。雖然此前素未謀面，江和索菲婭彼此一見如故。 電影放映後，大家都走了，只留下江和索菲婭兩人。 二人一拍即合，很快便愈加親密。 他們開始親吻愛撫。 江直言想與索菲婭發生性關係。 索菲婭在五歲時受到過保姆性侵，並且之前從未有過性交，面對事態的急劇發展（江突如其來的要求），她不知所措。 江握住她的手腕將她帶到床上，讓她躺下，脫下她衣服並開始與她性交，這讓她猛然想到了童年遭受性侵的創傷。 她想制止江，但沒能做到。 索菲婭在性交過程中身體僵硬，毫無生理反應。
Jiang has violated the Sexual Misconduct policy. It is the duty of the sexual initiator, Jiang, to make sure that she has mutually understandable consent to engage in sex. Though consent need not be verbal, it is the clearest form of consent. Here, Jiang had no verbal or non-verbal mutually understandable indication from Sophia that she consented to sexual intercourse. Of course, wherever possible, students should attempt to be as clear as possible as to whether or not sexual contact is desired, but students must be aware that for psychological reasons, or because of alcohol or drug use, your partner may not be in a position to provide as clear an indication as the University's Policy requires.
按照大學校規，江的行為屬於不當性行為。 主動進行性行為的一方江同學有責任確保她以雙方相互理解的方式同意進行性行為。 儘管不一定以口頭形式作出同意，但口頭形式是最明確的同意形式。 在此案件中，江從索菲亞一方沒有得到任何口頭或非口頭的相互可以理解的暗示，表示她同意進行性交。 當然，在任何可能的情況下，學生都應儘可能說明自己是否同意發生關係，但學生必須意識到，由於心理原因或由於飲酒或吸毒產生的後果，你的伴侶可能無法根據大學校規的要求向你作出明確表示。
閱讀更多 譯路俠客 的文章
