Browsing by Author "Salmela, Riikka"

The aim of this study was to examine what kind of harmful perceptions young people have on sexual consent. The other aim was to find recent scientific research on how sexual consent could best be discussed in school-based sex education and why. Sexual consent is an integral part of healthy and enjoyable sexual encounters which the lack thereof is a violation of one’s self-determination and physical integrity. Previous studies have shown that the legal and binary notions of sexual consent are unsuccessful in describing any and all experiences of unwanted and non-consensual sexual encounters. Subtle and deeply ingrained social norms affect how we behave in sexually charged situations. This study was conducted as a descriptive literature review. The data consisted of ten peer-reviewed articles that discuss sexual consent, school-based learning and young people. The studies were published in 2020 and 2021 and they took place in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Sweden, Denmark and New Zealand. According to this study young people have a varying understanding of sexual consent. Where some young people indicated a nuanced and multifaceted understanding of sexual consent, others expressed problematic and even dangerous views regarding the topic. Heteronormative gender roles were heavily related to young people’s notions of sexual consent. Men were seen as active and having initiative whereas women were seen as the passive party. However, the responsibility to set boundaries and express refusal was almost entirely on women. Insufficient understanding of sexual consent, gender roles and relying on body language to assume sexual consent may lead to situations where young people unintentionally wind up having unwanted sex. By discussing sexual consent in school-based education it is possible to influence young people’s understanding of sexual consent, to contest social norms related to sexual consent and to prevent such sexual violence that is caused by the lack of understanding of the phenomenon. Addressing sexual consent in education should focus on identifying one’s personal boundaries, communicating consent and non-consent, fostering deep understanding of sexual consent and pursuing enjoyable sexual experiences. Advisable methods in this study were inclusive exercises where young people could share their thoughts and in return learn information directly related to their personal experiences.