The legal definition of sexual consent within England and Wales stipulates ‘freedom to consent’ as a central indicator of valid consent (Sexual Offences Act, 2003). The Act does not clearly define this concept (Sjölin, 2015); however, Jones et al., (2022) argue that ‘freedom’ refers to the range of choices available to the individual.
Power inequalities may complicate freedom to consent, i.e., in situations or relationships with a disproportionate level of power between two individuals, this can restrict the available choices or actions that an individual feels able to make. Our research highlighted that young people view age as the most common power inequality within their sexual relationships and that this has implications for their freedom to consent (Jones et al., 2022). For example, an older partner’s sexual refusal is listened to, whereas a younger partner’s freedom to say ‘no’ is constrained by the perceived ramifications of saying ‘no’, such as the older partner ending the relationship with them, and the younger partner losing the status acquired from being in a relationship with an older partner (also see Duncan, 1999).
Disparities in age can intersect with other power inequalities, such as gender (e.g., acquiring an older partner is particularly desirable for young women; Duncan, 1999), social status (e.g., the desire to maintain the relationship and the resulting kudos might be exacerbated if the older partner is particularly popular) and sexual knowledge/experience (e.g., the pressure to engage in unwanted sexual activity might be exacerbated if the older partner is more sexually experienced).
Aims:
The first aim of this project is to explore the impact of age and intersecting power inequalities on young people’s freedom to consent within sexual relationships.
A secondary aim of the project is to explore young people’s experiences of learning about, and teachers’ experiences of delivering content related to, power inequalities within Relationships and Sex Education (RSE).
Here, we define ‘young people’ as UK secondary school pupils.
Methods:
We anticipate that this will be a qualitative project comprising two studies. Applicants should design the first study to address the first project aim. For ethical reasons, this study should focus on participants’ understandings of the topic and hypothetical situations, rather than their sexual experiences. When designing the study, you may wish to suggest adaptations for different age groups (e.g., 11-13 and 14-16-year-olds). We welcome creative and participatory approaches to exploring these issues.
Applicants should design the second study to address the second project aim. This could be an ethnographic study involving attending RSE lessons, analysing RSE materials, and speaking to pupils and teachers about their experiences of these - although other ideas are welcome.
As this research involves young people, applicants should familiarise themselves with guidance on conducting ethical research with young people; for example, the guidelines by Shaw et al. (2011; see Guidelines for research with children and young people).
Supervisory Team:
Saskia Jones, Rhys Turner-Moore, Kate Milnes. External advisor: Jon Brown, Barnardo’s.
Contact:
Dr Saskia Jones: [Email Address Removed]
Job Profile
https://vacancies.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/trenprod_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?VACANCY_ID=148526HmDG&WVID=7412577lKO&LANG=USA
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