Section 45(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) (female genital mutilation) is to be read down, consistently with the seriously considered dicta of the HCA majority in The Queen v A2, so as to apply only to female children subject to ritualistic practices, not to consensual cosmetic procedures on adult women. Consent is not available as a defence to a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm in NSW, consistent with R v Stein in Victoria and the clear majority position in R v Brown. Where a victim's consent was given in the context of a relationship of trust fostered by the offender, consent does not operate as a mitigating factor on sentence, though it may reduce objective seriousness in other circumstances. The test for causation in manslaughter does not require percentage attribution between competing causes; it is sufficient that the accused's act or omission was a substantial or significant cause of death even where multi-drug toxicity was a contributory cause.
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