Element of bondage session male eschewed (3)
I believe the answer is:
tie
'element of bondage' is the definition.
(a tie might be used to tie someone up)
'session male eschewed' is the wordplay.
'session' becomes 'time' (a period of time).
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'eschewed' indicates named letters should be taken away (to eschew is to avoid or abstain from).
'time' with 'm' removed is 'TIE'.
(Other definitions for tie that I've seen before include "It's worn under the collar" , "Equal scores" , "Fixture" , "11 [KNOT]" , "Equal score" .)