Bondage and discipline, Domination and submission, Sadism and Masochism (BDSM) has always been an incendiary topic in the media, personal sex lives, and especially in the courtroom. Although this erotic practice of negotiating, manipulating, and forming relationships is based on active consent and the balance of power, a statistically higher number of BDSM “scenes” are introduced as evidence against a defendant due to the highly stigmatized perception. The BDSM community, however, has put major efforts into prioritizing active consent and managing role responsibility for many years. Because sexual consent is a current topic from criminal courts to college campuses, a better understanding of BDSM is necessary, especially in the adversarial system of criminal justice. This includes learning the terminology, understanding the frameworks and practices, and recognizing the spectrum of relationships in the BDSM community. This presentation includes graphic/disturbing images of sexual sadism and unsafe BDSM practices.