D/s BDSM

The legal situation of sadomasochistic activities varies greatly between countries. In Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries, consensual BDSM is legal.

In the UK, BDSM activities which cause injuries which are more than 'transient or trifling' may be illegal. But the few cases since the original R v Brown 1990 ruling have been contradictory in their judgments.

In other countries it is an example of a consensual crime.

At least in the western, industrialized countries and Japan, since the 1980s sadomasochists have begun to form information exchange and support groups to counter the discriminatory image held by orthodox science and parts of the public. This has happened independently in the United States and in several European countries. With the advent of the web, international cooperation has started to develop - for example Datenschlag is a joint effort of sadomasochists in the three major German-speaking countries, and the mailing list Schlagworte uses the model of a news agency to connect six countries.