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Student activism, sexual consent and gender justice: enduring difficulties and tensions for schools

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Abstract

Amid seemingly endless media reports of sexual misconduct in our various institutions and particularly our schools, calls for better addressing gender injustice through education have again proliferated. In light of these calls, it continues to be important to appreciate the difficulties of teaching and activism in this area within the context of education. This paper highlights some of these difficulties from the perspectives of a small number of senior students at an elite independent school in the United States of America (USA). Drawing on a broader project that sought to identify new educative approaches to addressing gendered violence, the paper considers difficulties associated with (1) the adult-centred ways in which particular issues and knowledge about sex and sexuality are explored; and (2) the limits of student-only spaces for gender justice work especially given the discomforts of examining the gendered dimensions of sexual consent. Recognising these difficulties and tensions, the paper highlights the significance of feminist-informed adult allyship.

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Acknowledgements

The research presented in this paper was supported by the Fulbright Commission.

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  1. Research for Educational Impact, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia

    Amanda Keddie

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  1. Amanda Keddie
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Correspondence to Amanda Keddie.

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The relevant ethics approval for this study was obtained from Deakin University’s Human Research Ethics Advisory Group in April 2018.

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Keddie, A. Student activism, sexual consent and gender justice: enduring difficulties and tensions for schools. Aust. Educ. Res. 50, 503–518 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-021-00474-4

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