Young People and Sexual Consent: Contextualising 'Miscommunication' amid 'Grey Areas' of Ambiguity and Ambivalence

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Young People and Sexual Consent: Contextualising 'Miscommunication' amid 'Grey Areas' of Ambiguity and Ambivalence
Language: English
Authors: Emily Setty (ORCID 0000-0002-2085-7963)
Source: Sex Education: Sexuality, Society and Learning. 2025 25(1):140-155.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 16
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Sexuality, Congruence (Psychology), Interpersonal Communication, Interpersonal Relationship, Social Influences, Power Structure, Sex Education, Social Development, Emotional Development, Gender Bias, Social Bias, Foreign Countries, Sexual Abuse, Violence, Adolescents, Young Adults
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (England)
DOI: 10.1080/14681811.2023.2259321
ISSN: 1468-1811
1472-0825
Abstract: Educating young people about sexual consent aims to help them develop healthy relationships and prevent sexual harm. Yet, there remains no consensus on how to define consent nor the connection between consent and sexual harm. This article discusses findings from qualitative research conducted with young people in England that has explored issues of sexual consent. It engages with tensions around the so-called 'grey areas' and oft-critiqued 'miscommunication model' of consent and suggests that some form of 'miscommunication' may underpin some, albeit not all, experiences of sexual harm among young people. Young people may experience problems articulating and interpreting consent not because of malintent or substandard or disparate communication skills but because of interpersonal and sociocultural power dynamics that constrain the communication and operation of consent. Consent education needs, therefore, to support young people develop the socio-emotional skills and literacy required to navigate gendered and heterosexual (inter)personal pressures, expectations, and sexual scripts. It should involve active participation of young people whereby they identify the conditions in which sexual activity unfolds and the power dynamics that constrain the operation of consent.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2024
Accession Number: EJ1452743
Database: ERIC
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