In Intercourse, Andrea Dworkin set out to expose the power dynamics underpinning sexual relationships. Her book was pilloried in the 1980s, but many of her ideas no longer look so radical.
Consent is too low a standard for promoting ethical sex — even if it may be the best available legal standard.
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In the wake of the #MeToo movement, there has been a lot of focus on consent. However, that focus takes the spotlight away from other strategies that can better inform ethical sex.
To have a real impact on First Nations communities, we need to tell the whole story of sexual violence in people’s lives against the backdrop of colonisation.
Consent doesn’t mean your sexual partner needs to sign a consent form at the beginning of an encounter. It means an ‘enthusiastic yes’, expressed through words or gestures.
In Doe v. Fairfax, a student sued her school district for not taking sufficient action after she reported a sexual assault.
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Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and the film Rear Window are great examples of how parents and teachers can use movies and books to start discussions with young people about consent.
To be effective, a video needs to be clear about its message and relatable. The government’s milkshake video seemingly about consent failed on both counts. But these videos get it right.
Millions of people are reading young adult fantasy novels like Twilight or A Court of Thorns and Roses. But the way sexual consent is depicted in these can be confusing or even harmful.
A sexual education program in Mexico City provides a blueprint for Australia. It shows how to engage students in conversations about lived experiences, among other effective methods.
Queensland’s 120-year-old mistake of fact excuse allows defendants to argue they honestly and reasonably believed the other person consented to sex — even if they did not.
Just because a space is hyper-sexualised doesn’t mean consent doesn’t matter. In fact, it becomes even more important that everyone understands and observes agreed boundaries.
Many young women and girls who make YouTube videos about sexual consent also examine larger cultural, legal and political contexts. Here, YouTuber Laci Green.
(YouTube/Laci Green)
Parents can play an important role helping youth navigate the messages they see on YouTube about sexual consent.
The game’s players are able to customise their own storyline, which can then be ‘featured’ and shared with other players. The catch is, there’s more than 12 million creators - and the content isn’t exactly well-regulated.
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The mobile game has been downloaded more than 50 million times. If you have kids, they’ve probably played it. But it’s more problematic than most people realise.
Interim Director, UWA Public Policy Institute; Associate Professor & Programme Co-ordinator (Masters of Public Policy), The University of Western Australia
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary