Moira Carmody

Ethical erotics : Reconceptualizing anti-rape education

This article argues that many anti-violence prevention strategies have been shaped by unarticulated discourses of sexuality that focus primarily on women managing the risk and danger of unethical behaviour of men. Sexual intimacy has therefore been dominated by discourses of fear and danger and women’s pleasure is once again invisible. An alternative conception of sexual ethics is presented based on Foucault’s work on ethics, and sexuality. The findings from in-depth qualitative interviews with 26 Australian women and men of diverse sexualities indicate that women and men regardless of erotic choice of partner have found multiple ways to explore sexual pleasure that is ethical, non-violent and where danger is reduced. This suggests a need to develop alternative ways of shaping violence prevention strategies that acknowledge both pleasure and danger.

Preventing sexual violence

This article critically assesses the main social policy responses to preventing rape following much feminist struggle to make sexual violence a public matter of legitimate concern. It considers the preventative potential of legal measures, anti-violence campaigns waged by feminist and mens groups in the US and Australia, public education campaigns in Schools and Universities, and public awareness campaigns sponsored by the state. We argue that sexual violence is not amenable to quick fix strategies that place responsibility for prevention entirely on individual men or women. While we recognise that responsibilising victims and individualising offenders is consistent with wider global shifts in social policy calling upon individuals to manage their own risk, we argue that the increasing reliance on such neo-liberal social policy is especially problematic in preventing rape. The paper suggests ways to resist this which place greater emphasis on the promotion of sexual ethics; the eroticisation of consent; the reinvention of the norms of romance to include both these, and the complete separation of the psycho-social-symbolic connections between sex and violence, and ultimately the re-evaluation of the cultural expectations of masculinity and femininity.

Sexual Ethics and Violence Prevention

Violence against women remains a pressing and unresolved global issue which has proved resistant to over 30 years of feminist activism around prevention. This article argues that many prevention strategies have been shaped by unarticulated discourses about sexuality which have focused primarily on women managing the risk of the unethical behaviour of men. An alternative conception of sexual ethics is proposed based on Foucaults work on ethics, sexuality, governmentality and power as productive and in a constant state of negotiation. I argue that all sexual encounters, regardless of the gender of the people involved, invites the possibility of ethical sexual behaviour. Given the failure of prevention strategies in eradicating intimate sexual violence to date, there is a pressing need to consider how desire, acts and pleasure can be understood from an ethical perspective to create a greater possibility of realizing an erotics of consent. This would result in alternative ways of shaping violence prevention strategies and provide new directions for law, education and negotiating intimate sexual relationships of women and men of diverse sexualities.

‘Pleasure has no passport’: re-visiting the potential of pleasure in sexuality education

The idea that pleasure might form a part of sexuality education is no longer a ‘new’ idea in the field of sexuality studies. In this paper we examine how originally conceived notions of pleasure have been ‘put to work’ and theoretically ‘taken up’ in relation to sexuality and education. It is our contention that because of the nature of discourse and varying cultural and political contexts, pleasure has been operationalised in ways we did not intend or foresee. Throughout this discussion we seek to discern the discursive limits of visions of pleasure to illuminate their normalising potential. Drawing on Foucaults thoughts about pleasure as having ‘no passport’ and queer theoretical understandings of this concept, we argue for a re-conceptualisation of the potential of pleasure in sexuality education. In particular we identify the need for wedging open spaces for the possibility of ethical pleasures, in forms that are not heteronormatively pre-conceived or mandatory.

Playing by the rules : researching, teaching and learning sexual ethics with young men in the Australian National Rugby League

In 2004, the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) commissioned the Playing By The Rules research project in response to allegations of sexual assault by members of a professional rugby league team. This article offers an overview of the theoretical and methodological approaches adopted by the team, and the subsequent workplace education programmes designed to promote ethical sexual behaviour and attitudes within NRL culture. The researchers reflect on contemporary thinking in the relatively new field of violence prevention education aimed at young men, and consider new critical approaches to the intersection of masculinities and sexual learning.

Putting ethical sex into practice: sexual negotiation, gender and citizenship in the lives of young women and men

When young people begin to explore their sexuality they are often subject to particularly strong surveillance from adults and the institutions of the state. How young people become ethical sexual citizens is not well understood. In recent years an increased focus on comprehensive sexuality programmes that include violence prevention have led to the development of a number of education programmes targeting young people. This article will draw on quantitative and qualitative responses of a three-phase (pre-group, post-group, follow-up) impact evaluation from 153 young women and men from Australia and New Zealand who participated in the Sex and Ethics Violence Prevention Program from 2009 to 2011. The Program encourages young people to explore alternative approaches to gender and sexuality and learn skills in ethical negotiation which they can utilise in ‘real life’ situations. This includes developing a reflexive ethical stance to consider how sexual choices impact on themselves and others. The primary aim of the Program is to reduce pressured, coerced sex and sexual assault in intimate relationships. Despite gender differences women and men were able to move toward behavioural change, explore alternative approaches to gender relations and increase their skills in sexual negotiation as ethical sexual citizens.

Young Men, Sexual Ethics and Sexual Negotiation:

This paper explores a research and education project seeking positive ways to engage young men in respectful and ethical negotiation within sexual relationships. The experiences of young men aged 16–25 years of age are explored who took part in the Sex & Ethics Violence Prevention Program which was developed in 2006 and continues to be run in several Australian states and in New Zealand. The Program was designed to assist both young women and men to develop enhanced ethical sexual subjectivity and in the process help them to explore diverse gender possibilities in their intimate relationships. This study is located within the international field of violence prevention education. It considers how the young men who took part in this Program between 2009–2011 responded to the opportunity to reflect on their practices within the context of casual and ongoing sexual relationships. The implications of the study for our understandings of masculinities and gender are explored and how sexual ethics may provide a useful approach to assist young people as they navigate their sexual lives.

Sexual Violence Prevention Educator Training

The public health approach to the primary prevention of gendered violence recognises the need to work from a multi-systemic approach. As Cares and colleagues (this volume) indicate, prevention of sexual violence is critical and ultimately needs to be about behaviour change. A key strategy for achieving this goal is the provision of educational programmes and strategies to assist in developing new cultural norms of non-violence. In recent years there has been a rapid growth in educational programme development and consistent calls for rigorous evaluation of these interventions (Morrison et al., 2004; Nation et al., 2003). While education remains a central pillar of the primary prevention of gendered violence, there is limited international research published on the process of designing, implementing and evaluating professional training of personnel who deliver such programmes. This is despite recognition that effective programmes require well-trained, reflective, sensitive and well-supported staff (Carmody et al., 2009; Evans, 2008; Nation et al, 2003; Whitaker et al., 2006).

Program Evaluation Theory and Practice: A Comprehensive Guide [Book Review]

I commenced reading this book with considerable enthusiasm but soon lost interest and struggled to finish it. While it contains helpful materials and useful examples, most chapters are not very well structured, which detracts from the experience. Nevertheless, this text would be a useful resource for academics looking for exercises to undertake with their students. Practising evaluators interested in running better meetings should borrow a copy of this book and read Chapters 4, 7 and 8. In addition to Block (the chapter on working with resistant clients is pure gold) and Palumbo (a classic text), readers may also be interested in Preskill, H & Russ-Eft 2005, Building evaluation capacity: 72 activities for teaching and training, Sage, Newbury Park, California, which contains a wide range of useful examples.

Young People, Ethical Sex and Violence Prevention

Educating young people about sexual assault and other forms of intimate partner violence is a challenging area for school educators. This is despite the fact that young people self-report high levels of violence in early dating relationships. Historically this area has tended to be ignored in most personal development curricula and when it has been acknowledged, anti-violence workers from victim services have often been brought in to provide input. More recently in Australian and UK schools, additional curricula have been developed which attempt to educate young people about sexual consent and ‘healthy’ relationships. This chapter will explore these developments and argue that they often unwittingly foster a range of degendered discourses. This impacts on how sexuality, violence and intimacy are conceptualised. Unwittingly this can result in reinforcing traditional discourses of heteronormativity and excludes same-sex attracted young people. An alternative approach based on sexual ethics will be discussed based on empirical research with rural and city young women and men of diverse sexualities who have participated in the Sex & Ethics sexual assault prevention education programme developed by the author (Carmody, 2009b). This programme offers a framework for young people to explore knowledge and skills of ethical decision-making that balances both pleasure and danger in intimate relationships.