Classroom Conversations about Sexual Assault

Abstract

This chapter looks at sexual assault, sexual harassment, and bodily autonomy and how classroom conversations can be employed to actively combat the marginalization of young women. It discusses examples of sexual assault and harassment that dominated headlines, including President Trump and Justice Kavanaugh, and considers how these highly political cases make teaching about consent in schools both more critical and more complicated. While teaching about consent should not be a partisan issue, it has become one, with debates about the autonomy of female bodies becoming increasingly prominent in the conversation. There are several promising ways that schools might address this, including early and regular conversations and reimagining health and physical education classes.