Following the Pestminster sex scandal, it was suggested that MPs may have to go to consent classes where they are taught how to avoid sexual harassment. But MPs are not the only people to be told they need lessons. Most UK universities now run consent classes and the department of education has recently revealed that children as young as four have to be taught about consent too, to ensure they form respectful relationships both online and offline. Should we welcome the teaching of consent to MPS, students and school children, or are we in danger of overcomplicating and formalising personal relationships? And are we frightening children about sex before they even have a relationship?
Filmed at the Battle of Ideas 2018, the speakers are: Susan Edwards, professor of law; director of external relations, University of Buckingham; author, Sex and Gender in the Legal Process, Alisha Lobo, community officer, University of Bath Students’ Union, Elizabeth Robertson, professor and chair of English language, University of Glasgow; author, Chaucerian Consent: women, religion and subjection in Late Medieval England, Joanna Williams, head of education and culture, Policy Exchange; author, Women vs Feminism; associate editor, spiked. The chair is Sally Millard, co-founder, AoI Parents Forum
