“Sex without consent, I suppose that is rape”: How young people in England understand sexual consent

A report commissioned for the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups

This research into young people’s understanding of consent to sex was conducted by the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) at London Metropolitan University for the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, as part of its national Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups (CSEGG). How young people make sense of sexual consent emerged as a key issue of concern during the first year of the CSEGG Inquiry (Berelowitz et al, 2012). The aim of this study was to explore young people’s perceptions of consent, and what informs, influences and constrains their understandings and decision-making processes.
Young people and sexual consent
A range of studies on sexual violence and exploitation consistently demonstrate that young people, particularly young women, are disproportionately likely to be victimised (e.g. Barter et al, 2009; Berelowitz et al, 2012; Beckett et al, 2012). Research also reveals that some young men report using coercive tactics and techniques (see, for example, Teten et al, 2009).
A frequently cited idea is that non-consensual sex is the result of ‘miscommunication’. This creates expectations for sex to be refused with a clear verbal ‘no’, unlike other forms of human interaction where declining is typically much less direct. The evidence base for ‘sexual miscommunication theory’ is weak (Burkett & Hamilton, 2012). One study found that young men understood non-verbal signals of refusal, yet claimed ‘sexual miscommunication’ to justify using pressure, suggesting that this idea operates as a new rape myth (O’Byrne et al, 2008). Recent research on consent from both the US (Powers-Albanesi, 2009) and Australia (Powell, 2010) highlights the importance of gender in understandings of how agreement to have sex is negotiated: that young women feel under pressure to submit to unwanted sex, while only young men are perceived to be the ‘initiators’. This suggests we are still some way away from a positive model of consent which involves active communication and mutual pleasure.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 places responsibility on both parties to be sure that consent is ‘freely given’. Yet few UK researchers have explicitly explored sexual consent with young people. It is especially topical to do so when there is growing concern about the impacts of pornography, sexualised popular culture and technology on young people’s social and sexual landscapes.