Students say sexual consent ‘grey area’

Sexual consent is a “grey area” for students that is negotiated silently and clouded by alcohol.

Research conducted by a team from NUI Galway among university students found that both males and females were uncertain as to what defined rape and sexual violence.

Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald described the findings as “disturbing” and said that young people were “very confused” about consent.

Launching the report, which was commissioned by Rape Crisis Network Ireland, the minister said the abuse of alcohol was a “very key issue” in this area.

The research, among 44 students in single-sex focus groups and another 144 in online surveys, found there was:

* An unspoken approach to negotiating consent.

* Uncertainty in being able to name sexual violence.

* Doubt that gardaí would be supportive of claims.

* Anxiety about the credibility of a legal case.

It said that expectations for sexual activity were “facilitated by alcohol”, in which “physical intimacy progresses to the point of intercourse”.

It said: “The male gender role was to push the progression onward through successive stages, while the female role was described as acquiescing showing willingness, or acting as gatekeepers to halt progression.”

It said the whole process was largely implicit and unspoken: “It was seen as weird or amusing to consider consent as something that would be explicitly negotiated.”

The report said factors that made if difficult to name sexual activity as not consensual included: intoxication; being in a relationship with the aggressor, and sex acts other than vaginal penetration.

“We need to start the conversation about consent so that young people feel more confident in their decision making in relation to sexual activity. It’s very clear in this report that it’s a very confused area for young people,” said Ms Fitzgerald.

RCNI executive director Fiona Neary said: “This research is relentless in demonstrating young people’s inability to talk about sex, never mind negotiate consent.

“This report tells us that without Government action rapes that can be prevented will continue to occur. The findings are so shocking that the Government must immediately take action to prevent sexual violence.”

The report

Scenario: A female group discuss situation where a woman had a blackout.

Respondent 2: I mean they were get... they were quite physical anyway... kissing and genital contact... her consent was right up to that point, so the next stage if there... if they were quite, eh... physical, then the next stage would be intercourse. So, whether... I mean, you know, I... how... it would be easy for him to have the wrong signal then, you know, if she was willing to participate right up to a point and then she blacks out. And just before... prior to intercourse. I don’t know, it just seems a bit...

Resp 3: I don’t know, I think there should be consent at every stage.

Resp 4: Yeah, I think so too.

Resp 1: Yeah.

Resp 2: You mean like outright asking, or...?

Resp 3: No...

Resp 2: How do you mean?

Resp 3. ... I mean like she should be like an active participant, not just like lying there nearly passed out. Then you know that yeah, okay, this isn’t a yes, I should stop now.