Legislative bodies and interest groups sometimes rationalize the criminalization of consensual activity because they feel it offends cultural norms, or because one of the parties to the activity is considered a "victim" despite their informed consent.
[1] Consensual crimes can be described as crimes in which the victim is the state, the judicial system, or society at large and so affect the general (sometimes ideological or cultural) interests of the system, such as common sexual morality.
The fact that no persons come forward to claim injury has essentially made the two terms interchangeable in common use.
When discussing consensual crime, one issue is whether all the participants are capable of giving genuine legal consent.
This may not be the case if one or more of the participants are: The generally accepted definition of a consensual crime is a criminal act committed by two or more people, who consent to involvement, and does not involve any nonconsenting individuals.