IN A TRIAL in Canada later this year, one of the questions is whether Cindy Gladue liked Rough Sex. Specifically, if she liked it rough enough to consent to digital penetration that tore an 11cm wound in her vaginal wall. Ms Gladue bled to death, so she cannot testify. Bradley Barton, charged with her manslaughter, says her death was a tragic accident. Mr Barton’s case, a retrial, will be heard in November. The verdict in another case is expected on July 31st. David Miller is accused of first-degree murder of his girlfriend, Debra Novacluse, in 2016. He told police that her death was a result of rough sex gone too far.

The cases come as a group of academics have called for a restriction on the use of the “rough sex” defence in homicide cases. Elizabeth Sheehy, Isabel Grant and Lise Gotell, who specialise in gender studies and the law surrounding violence against women, argue that the law shouldn’t recognise the consent of the victim as a defence for causing bodily harm or death. “Rough sex rebounds on women,” they say.

It is not just in Canada that the so-called “50 Shades of Grey” defence appears. Men in America, Britain, Germany, Italy and Russia have claimed that their partner’s death was a tragic, kinky accident. We Can’t Consent To This, a British campaign group, has counted 27 cases since 2010. The group recently...