Rethinking the primacy of consent: community education and ethical sex

Abstract

ABSTRACT Some weighty claims are made about the capacity of consent education to address the problem of sexual exploitation and violence. The modern notion of consent has its origins in the criminal law where it has a specific and narrow function as the cardinal marker between rape and legal sex. This prompts us to ask: how fit for purpose is the concept of consent outside of the criminal law or, more specifically, how fit for purpose is consent in the context of primary prevention education? This article draws on an empirical study in the Australian state of New South Wales to examine how consent is mobilised and explained in community programs and campaigns that deliver respectful or healthy relationship education. The research shows that consent is a preferred narrative through which many educational initiatives tackle sexual exploitation and promote sexual respect. The article explores some of the limits of the language through which consent is defined and explained in these programs. Ultimately, however, it argues that we should be concerned not just with how consent is defined but, more fundamentally, with the prioritisation of consent as a primary narrative through which to tackle sexual exploitation. Consent is merely the minimum threshold necessary for legal sex. It is not a signifier of ethical or good sex.