DO+ME..+a+favour.

DO ME.. a favour. __//-Sexual consent-//__ **David Cadman** **N8805733** **Tutor: Abbey Diaz** = = = = = DO ME.. a favour & leave = __>> Hear what she's really saying. Sex without consent is a crime.__



= Cultural Artefact =

This cultural artefact is an advertisement found on the side of a bus shelter in Canada. It was developed with the intention of spreading awareness of the need for consent between both parties prior to sexual intercourse. The advertisement reads “DO ME a favour & leave – Hear what she’s really saying. Sex without consent is a crime” and is situated on more than just bus shelters, including billboards and advertisement boxes. Part of the marketing plan was to be sexually overt, hence why “Do Me” dominates the majority of the ad.

= Public Health Issue =

This artefact represents a major issue within public health, that is and has been present for many centuries. This issue is, as the artefact displays, sexual consent. The topic of sexual consent is a major concern that can often be negotiated in an undesirable manner. This can be due to many aspects including situational factors, misperception of communication or even wilful coercion (Farris, Treat, Viken, & McFall, 2008, p. 48-66). As stated by Farris, C and associates, incidents involving sexual coercion are dominated by male perpetrators, however this does not exclude females from committing the same crime. In some niche sexual activities, such as kink sex (BDSM) consent is negotiated in a vastly different manner to ‘normal’ sexual encounters. This involves written contracts signed by both parties rather than a verbal agreement.

= Literature Review =

Sexual consent within society is a major issue that is often taken for granted and in some extreme cases, ignored altogether. It can be narrowed to ‘giving assent or permission for a certain act or event to take place.’ Sexual consent between both parties may appear relatively straight-forward, however, too often is the case when a sexual act takes place without the consent of one party. There are multiple reasons for this, including male overperception of a female’s sexual interest (Perilloux, Easton, & Buss, 2012, p. 146-151), which may come about due to multiple factors. In addition to overperception and misinterpretation, an illegal, un-consented to act may take place on purpose. Sexual coercion can be defined as “any situation in which one party uses verbal or physical means (including administering drugs or alcohol to the other party either with or without her consent) to obtain sexual activity against freely given consent”(Farris, Treat, Viken, & McFall, 2008, p. 48-66). The majority of this report will directed at male perpetrators, as they account for the majority of sexual assaults and incidents of rape (Farris, Treat, Viken, & McFall, 2008, p. 48-66). Sub cultures, such as those concerning BDSM will also be examined as consent is a major aspect to their operation.

Sexual consent requires knowledge of the intended sexual acts and the associated risks before it can be considered legitimate consent (Humphreys and Herold, 2007, p. 305-315). Accordingly, the legal age of sexual consent in Australia is sixteen years (AIHW 2011). The laws regulating sexual consent are in place to ensure young adults and children are not sexually abused or exploited (Lamont, A. 2012). The difference between adult and child sex crimes is that adults possess the ability to consent to the sexual acts, whereas children under sixteen cannot, as they lack the emotional maturity and carnal knowledge (Lamont, A. 2012). Sexual consent amongst young adults is a major issue within Australia, with 40% of grade twelve females reported to have experienced unwanted sex (AIHW 2011). Due to the stigma and emotional damage involved with non-consensual sexual acts, approximately eight of ten sexual assaults amongst Australian adults are not reported to police (Tarczon and Quadara. 2012). Sexual violence towards females, including sexual assaults and sexual threats has decreased slightly from 1.9% in 1996 to 1.6% in 2005 (Tarczon and Quadara. 2012). This could be due to many factors such as increased awareness and personal defence items.

There are aspects of consent, such as consensual non-consent, present in BDSM ‘scenes’ which are not recognised by conventional consent laws. Consensual non-consent is where both partners enjoy the illusion of non-consent and so agree upon another word that means stop or no (Moser, C. 2006, p. 86-90). This allows for one partner to beg the other to stop, to fight back or attempt to escape the session, despite the fact that they actually wish to participate in this activity. Often is the case, where participants of S and M are charged with sexual assault despite signing a comprehensive consent document prior to commencing sexual acts. This can be due to a range of factors, including scenes that are more intense than anticipated, having bruises or lacerations left after the session has ended, or if they feel they have been humiliated. If a complaint is lodged against the partner, the consent form is not recognised as being legitimate. In contrast to written consent, (Humphreys and Herold, 2007, p. 305-315) found that verbal consent is only given in approximately 50% of interactions involving intercourse of a non-BDSM nature. It was also established that non-verbal consent was used more often than verbal consent (Humphreys and Herold, 2007, p. 305-315).

Methodologies for determining how many women have been exposed to sexual assault primarily include anonymous surveys and police reports. Using statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it can be seen that a slight decrease in sexual assaults has occurred since 1996. There are major limitations to the accuracy of this information, including the most prominent issue mentioned above as being a lack of disclosure by victims (Lamont, A. 2012). Any lack of information makes gathering reliable statistics difficult and as a result, behavioural studies and experiments must be carried out in addition. Therefore it can be difficult to understand the gravity of this issue, or even to bring it to the attention of the public while there is a shortage of evidence to provide.

= Cultural and Social Analysis =

Having an intimate knowledge of society and knowing exactly how the Australian society views sexual consent is paramount in addressing this issue. The Australian Bureau of Statistics identifies how environmental factors such as socioeconomic status, the status of women within society, quality of child-rearing, substance abuse and media come together to create the context for sexual assaults within Australia (ABS, 2011). The ABS’s framework also identifies that education and prevention programs are an effective means to lower the incidents of sexual assault. As mentioned my Humphreys and Herold (2007, p. 305-315), many cases of unwanted sexual attention can be due to misperception, which has been identified to have a multi-factorial aetiology. In contrast to these statistics and views on women and their consent-related outcomes, multiple groups have formed over the years, each with similar views on women’s equality and rights. Feminist groups and political parties holding strong views on equality, campaign for their beliefs, that women are more sexually liberated than previous generations (Burkett and Hamilton, 2012, p. 815-833). This notion was initiated by feminist enlightenment movements throughout the 1960’s and 70’s (Burkett and Hamilton, 2012, p. 815-833). Since this period, postfeministic ideologies have come into play, and through “repackaging old gender norms and sexual objectiﬁcation as empowering” (Burkett and Hamilton, 2012, p. 815-833), they have somewhat been promoting free-thinking, sexually liberated feministic views, while increasing chauvinistic, male-dominated forms of thinking. This is made apparent through the copious amounts of advertising, degrading women and labelling them as mere sex objects, while supposedly empowering them. Slogans such as “The Chef does everything but cook – that’s what wives are for” posted against an ad for a new Kenwood Chef mixer. Another ad, by Dolce & Gabbana depicts a group of four men pinning down a single female in what has been described as a gang-rape scene. Misogyny is also present within popular pop music culture, with artists such as Robin Thicke including lyrics such as “What do they make dreams for, when you got them jeans on, what do we need steam for, you the hottest bitch in this place” in his song titled ‘Blurred Lines’, the title itself is a subjective and controversial element to the song.

There is one major group who is affected by this issue, and that is females. Females make up almost half of Australia’s population, with 98.9 males per hundred females (ABS, 2011). Males are also affected, however the vast proportion of victims are female. The issue of sexual consent within contemporary Australian society can therefore be classified as relevant. Often is the case that sexual coercion is being normalised within the ‘context’ of heterosexual relationships (Humphreys and Herold, 2007, p. 305-315). This may be due to the aforementioned reasons, such as advertising or old gender norms coming into play. Consent within sex is a major issue within modern Australian society, as displayed earlier by the Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing. Awareness must be raised amongst not just the male community, but amongst the female community also. As stated by Humphreys and Herold (2007, p. 305-315) “You have to verbalise it and if you don’t it’s not the guy’s fault”. This statement is subjective, yet it provides the context for another idea brought forward by the same authors, that “consent has an implicit dimension to it and is often implied rather than stated”. Public health experts must emphasise the need for the education of all children from a young age may aid in avoiding non-consensual sex at an older age.

= Reflection =

My artefact represents a trend within society that has been present for many centuries. It also represents support and equality for the female gender as a whole. It states “DO ME a favour and leave – Hear what she’s really saying. Sex without consent is a crime”. This statement is supposed to be sexually overt and thought-provoking, and it achieves this. I feel it is extremely relevant and is applicable to consent as a whole, despite being targeted at sex (intercourse). Its meaning, however is not explicitly meant for sex and can be applied to a whole host of activities that fall under sexual assault. Throughout the process of writing this assessment piece, this issue in its entirety was brought to my attention. I was aware of the ‘rape culture’ within Australia and have been exposed to jokes about sexual assault (concerning females), however I was shocked to observe the statistics and view the sheer number of those who had actually been sexually assaulted. Being exposed to information such as this will aid in my future profession as a Paramedic, as I am sure to be exposed to some cases where sexual assault is the chief complaint.

= References =

Cooper, H.L. (2010). A brief history of tactile writing systems for readers with blindness and visual impairments. Retrieved from http://www.tsbvi.edu/seehear/spring06/history.htm

Farris, C., Treat, T. A., Viken, R. J., & McFall, R. M. (2008). Sexual coercion and the misperception of sexual intent.Clinical Psychology Review, 28(1), 48-66. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2007.03.002

Perilloux, C., Easton, J. A., & Buss, D. M. (2012). The misperception of sexual interest.Psychological Science, 23(2), 146-151. doi:10.1177/0956797611424162 Humphreys, T., & Herold, E. (2007). Sexual consent in heterosexual relationships: Development of a new measure.Sex Roles, 57(3), 305-315. doi:10.1007/s11199-007-9264-7

Burkett, M., Hamilton, K. (2012). Postfeminist sexual agency: Young women’s negotiations of sexual consent. Sexualities, 15(7), 815-833. doi:10.1177/1363460712454076 Moser, C. (2006). Demystifying alternative sexual behaviors.Sexuality, Reproduction & Menopause, 4(2), 86-90. doi:10.1016/j.sram.2006.08.007 Lamont, A. (2012). Age of consent laws. Retrieved from []

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2011. Young Australians: their health and wellbeing 2011 Retrieved from []

Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2013), Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia 2011. Retrieved from [] Tarczon, C. Quadara, A. (2012) The nature and extent of sexual assault in abuse in Australia Retrieved from []

Dolche & Gabbana image

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Kenwood image

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Reflection. 1. [] 2. []