Congruent Joy

Safe, Sane, and Consensual

“Safe, Sane, and Consensual” is a common description, a set of principles, to use as a guideline to separate BDSM from abuse and other harmful activities.

There are various descriptions of “Safe, Sane, and Consensual”, you can see a typical description at Wikipedia

I particularly liked the description that was used at Shibaricon, as people can (and of course do) argue about such things as what is “safe” exactly, and shouldn’t adults be allowed to do “unsafe” things, if they choose to?

Thus…

Safe: Being knowledgeable about the techniques and safety concerns involved in what you are doing, and acting in accordance with that knowledge.

Sane: Knowing the difference between fantasy and reality, and acting in accordance with that knowledge.

Consensual: Respecting the limits and boundaries imposed by each participant at all times.

There are further subtleties naturally (there always are).

For example, it’s important to not only have consent (“Yes it’s OK to do that”) but also informed consent (knowing what the ramifications are of having given consent).