Legal Definitions - nonconsensual

Nonconsensual describes an action or event that occurs without the explicit agreement, permission, or voluntary assent of all parties involved. It signifies a lack of mutual understanding and willingness regarding a particular act or situation.

Here are some examples illustrating the term:

• Medical Procedure: Imagine a patient undergoes surgery, having only given explicit permission for a specific procedure to address a broken bone. While the patient is under anesthesia, the surgeon decides to also remove a benign cyst that was discovered during the operation, even though it was not part of the original consent form and not an immediate life-threatening issue.

  This would be considered a nonconsensual medical act because the patient did not provide their explicit agreement or permission for the removal of the cyst. The surgeon proceeded without the patient's voluntary assent for that specific part of the procedure.

• Use of Property: A person borrows their friend's car for an hour with permission. However, instead of returning it as agreed, they decide to take it on a weekend road trip without informing or asking their friend for extended use.

  The extended use of the car for the road trip becomes a nonconsensual act because the friend's permission was limited to a specific duration and purpose. The borrower acted without the owner's renewed agreement or voluntary assent for the prolonged and different use of their property.

• Data Sharing: A user signs up for a new online service and carefully reviews the privacy policy, opting out of any third-party data sharing. Despite this explicit choice, the service provider later sells the user's personal information, such as their email address and browsing habits, to marketing companies.

  This action by the service provider is nonconsensual because the user had clearly withheld their permission for their data to be shared with third parties. The sharing occurred without the user's voluntary agreement, violating their expressed preferences and privacy settings.