Very few topics receive attention as much as sex.  A very primal human behaviour that gets people talking.  In Criminology any discussion on sex contains those elements that make it less than appealing, abuse, exploitation and violation.  Our focus on the criminal dimensions of sexual behaviour can disfigure the way we talk about it and misrepresent the joys of sex.  It can be argued however that outlining the negatives gives way to a positive outlook to sex in a similar way to health professional’s focus on avoiding sexually transmitted diseases, leading to a healthy sexual life. 

Sex is about affirming social relations, as part of our own intimacy.  There is a variety on sex from feelings, practices and expressions that is as wide as humanity itself.  It is a language we talk that needs no translation.  This is why that abusive behaviours are regarded such a violation of the person.  Rape, legally, is as serious as murder.  The person victimised is losing something so intimate that it may never be recovered; one of the many reasons why people who suffered abuse are called survivors. 

Our perspectives on sex changes and our society tried to accommodate them.  Some years ago, Holland decided to include some scenes on “public liberal expressions on sexuality” as part of their material for their immigration test.  This is a marked difference from the UK who decriminalised homosexuality but only behind closed doors.

Criminologically speaking there are certain elements that safeguard sexual behaviours.  Age, relation, location and consent.  The age of consent is recognising the minimum age any person can be legally responsible to engage in sexual relations.  Under that age and it is statutory rape.  Any relationship between close relatives in the UK can lead to imprisonment.  Any sexual acts in public are regarded illegal, including sex in public toilets (cottaging) so sex remains behind closed doors.  The final point is the most controversial; consent is paramount to any sexual relations.  The important thing in sex is that we choose to engage with others or not.

Part of the criminological process is to ascertain how we understand consent and disseminate it to others.  Academically there are several issues to consider and to investigate.  This is one of criminology’s strengths to tap into the sociological and philosophical discourses offering some practical perspectives.  In recent years the discussion about sex on campus for example has been one that raised awareness on consent.  In criminology we discuss it in ways to amplify the importance of consent in sex and in relationships in general. 

For a long time now, we have talked about safe spaces as a mechanism of allowing people to talk without judgement.  We focus on educational practices that are focused on inclusion and empathy and disseminate work that challenges established notions that mythologise sexual relations and minimise the importance of consent. 

Let’s explore some of the key points we disseminate. Sex is an individual right for all regardless of origin or identity, which makes it also a universal right.  Law safeguards sexual relations, but the lack of reporting of sexual violence, the low conviction rate of those processed cases and the volume of unknowns underscore that we cannot resolve sexual violence legally.  We cannot police sexual relations when our community does not prioritise the importance of safeguarding human rights.  What we can do instead is to change that social discourse on sex.  In one of my previous posts, I underscored the irony of proliferating legal interventions, whilst culturally we seem happy to receive expressions on misogyny, abuse and exploitation as legitimate expressions on sexuality.  Policing sexual behaviours for example comes with a long history of retaining the straight man’s privilege of pleasure over all others.  A privilege long retained unchallenged making the work of current and future criminologists even more pressing! At the end of this month, it is International Day of Consent in November 30, so from today until the end of the month, ask yourself what you have done to change the established narrative to make your own space more inclusive.