In 2014, a woman came to London to receive sperm from a donor she found online. Later, he was convicted in a criminal court on two counts of sexual abuse against her. In court, it was argued that the donor, a university professor and popular member of the sperm donor marketplace, had taken advantage of his position of power - he had control over the thing she was desperate to have.
Dr Tanya Palmer, a legal scholar at the University of Sussex, has argued that the UK criminal law lacks legislation over what she describes as chronic sexual abuse - acts that on their own are not offenses, but taken together can be seen as an ongoing assault of a person’s ability to give consent. In these marketplaces, she says, prolific and long-term donors are determining what new recipients should agree to, and what they feel they can say no to as well.
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