Abstracts
Abstract
Sexual consent education has emerged in recent years as the most popular method of preventing gender-based violence. Yet, the concept of consent used in much contemporary programming problematically oversimplifies sexual exploration and the power dynamics it is imbued with by asserting that consent is as simple as “Yes” or “No.” The messiness of sexual negotiation or the ‘grey areas’ of consent that youth may experience are left unaddressed. By examining the experiences of youth trauma survivors through a trauma-informed lens, the limits to binary consent education become clear. I draw on empirical data from nine open-ended interviews with Canadian youth trauma survivors to demonstrate how a trauma-informed lens may be implemented in consent education. I argue that educators should include understandings of consent which falls outside the Yes/No binary in order to adequately address youth survivors’ vulnerability to sexual (re)victimization. I examine how three of the psychosocial impacts of trauma, dissociation, hypersexuality, and struggles with acquiescence, refuse the binaristic model of consent and should be considered for trauma-informed consent education. While education alone cannot end rape culture, addressing the grey area of consent in consent education may help reduce preventable harm for survivors, as well as youth more broadly.
Keywords:
- sexual consent,
- gender-based violence prevention,
- consent education,
- trauma-informed,
- sexuality education,
- youth,
- higher education,
- sexual violence
Résumé
Ces dernières années, l’éducation au consentement sexuel s’est révélée être la méthode la plus populaire pour prévenir la violence fondée sur le sexe. Pourtant, le concept de consentement utilisé dans la plupart des programmes d’aujourd’hui simplifie exagérément l’exploration sexuelle et les dynamiques de pouvoir qui s’y rattachent en laissant entendre que le consentement se résume à un simple « oui » ou « non ». La complexité de la négociation sexuelle ou les « zones grises » que les jeunes peuvent rencontrer en ce qui concerne le consentement ne sont pas abordées. Si l’on se penche sur les expériences des jeunes ayant survécu à un traumatisme en adoptant une approche tenant compte des traumatismes, les limites de l’éducation au consentement binaire deviennent évidentes. Je m’appuie sur des données empiriques recueillies lors de neuf entrevues sans orientation précise avec de jeunes Canadiens ayant survécu à un traumatisme pour démontrer comment une approche tenant compte des traumatismes peut être intégrée à l’éducation au consentement. J’estime que les éducateurs devraient intégrer la compréhension du consentement qui ne se limite pas au simple « oui » ou « non » afin d’aborder de manière adéquate la vulnérabilité des jeunes survivants à la (re)victimisation sexuelle. J’étudie comment trois des effets psychosociaux du traumatisme, à savoir la dissociation, l’hypersexualité et les difficultés liées à l’acquiescement, s’opposent au modèle binaire du consentement et devraient faire partie de l’éducation au consentement tenant compte des traumatismes. Bien que l’éducation ne puisse à elle seule mettre fin à la culture du viol, intégrer la question des zones grises liées au consentement à l’éducation à celui-ci peut contribuer à réduire des préjudices évitables pour les survivants, ainsi que pour les jeunes, de manière plus générale.
Mots-clés :
- consentement sexuel,
- prévention de la violence fondée sur le genre,
- éducation au consentement,
- approche tenant compte des traumatismes,
- éducation sexuelle,
- jeunes,
- enseignement supérieur,
- violence sexuelle
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Appendices
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