Oxford's oldest student newspaper

Independent since 1920

Consent top of OUSU’s agenda for freshers’ week

OUSU has ordered 2,000 condoms with “Got Consent?” written on them, tying in with the sexual consent workshops being held in every college in Fresher’s Week this year.

OUSU Welfare Officer Chris Pike described the scheme as “a pilot” and said that this was the reason the condoms, which are purchased by each college’s Freshers’ Committee, cost 36p each, compared to 6p for the cheapest range, Durex Elite. They have since sold out.

Pike added, “The idea for ‘consent condoms’ came from a post on Oxford discussion group Cuntry Living and we felt that these would be a good addition to the work we are already doing.

“We do not intend to imply that sexual consent is only necessary in situations involving or requiring condoms.” 

“We’re piloting the condoms because we think that it is good to have positive messages about sexual consent around all of us, and condoms are one way of getting that message across.”

Second-year Hertfordian Josie Dyster com- mented, “Safe sex is a good thing. Consent is a good thing, so generally I would say it’s a good thing. […] However I feel there are much more effective ways of encouraging a consent culture without any great expense.”

A second year at Magdalen also had concerns, “I think consent condoms could be great and I get the need to make them affordable, but a lot of people are taking issue with their quality.

“The design’s on a flimsy sticker, which hardly looks enticing; I don’t know if they’ll catch on in their present incarnation.”

Sexual consent workshops are also going to be a compulsory part of freshers’ week for 22 out of the 30 colleges this year.

Anna Bradshaw, OUSU’s VP for Women, who headed the campaign, told Cherwell, “Working to combat sexual harassment and to promote a healthy culture of sexual consent are high priorities for me this year. This includes the work that OUSU is doing with the University to update their harassment policy, the OUSU sexual consent workshops that are happening in all college JCRs this Freshers’ Week, and supporting the It Happens Here campaign.

“These issues are incredibly important, and I am personally very proud of the work that we are doing. I have been blown away by the enthusiastic response that we have had from so many JCRs and MCRs, and am very excited for a busy Freshers’ Week.”

The introduction of the workshops has also attracted some debate. Although much comment was very positive, some expressed concerns that the workshops would make freshers feel under pressure to have sex.

Wadham student Joe Miles emphasised his support for compulsory workshops, but added that “I certainly think it’s something to be kept in mind by those leading the workshop that we do live in a culture that prioritises sex and treats people who haven’t had sex for whatever reason as abnormal… I don’t want people to be in a position where they feel like they’re not doing university properly because they’re not having the ‘right’ amount of sex.”

However, Wadhamite Annie Teriba emphasized that knowledge of consent goes beyond what is traditionally regarded as sexual activity, writing, “Consent workshops are vital regardless, given that consent isn’t just about penetrative or oral sex, or even just about sexual encounters – you need to seek consent if you run the risk of violating someone’s boundaries, even if you don’t have sexual ‘designs’ on them or can’t be attracted to them.”

Hertford College Freshers’ Committee president Holly Redford Jones said, “Clearly a one hour workshop is not an immediate solution to any of the consent or social issues surrounding sex, but it does at least get students talking about sex.

“These are the kinds of conversations we should be having with one another, and holding these workshops during Freshers’ Week starts us off on the right track from the start.” 


Check out our other content

Most Popular Articles