School sex education ‘inadequate, majority of students say in survey

More than three quarters (76 per cent) of college students surveyed by an NUI Galway research team say their sexual health education at school was “inadequate”.

A majority (86 per cent)of participants in a related survey said that alcohol impacts on ability to give consent, but 37 per cent agreed a woman could still give consent to sex after drinking “heavily”.

The data has been drawn from a series of surveys by an NUI Galway (NUIG) research team led by psychology lecturer Dr Pádraig MacNeela.

The “Smart” research project has developed a consent workshop, and has been undertaking research since 2014. Some 2,000 students have participated so far in the workshops and surveys in the past year.

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NUIG PhD student Elaine Byrnes will present findings at a conference in Dublin on Thursday, which will give “important insights” into consent-related issues, Dr MacNeela says.

Some 89 per cent of 632 college students participating in one of the surveys agreed it was important to obtain sexual consent in all relationships, regardless of whether they have had sex before.

However, only 53 per cent agreed that “most other students” believed this to be the case.

In a group of 240 single college students, some 31 per cent said they would have difficulty letting a partner know that a certain sexual activity made them feel uncomfortable.

Some 32 per cent of single students in the same survey group would have difficulty telling a partner that they like a specific sexual activity, the research found.

The report will be published in Trinity College Dublin on Thursday at an event hosted by the “Respect” all-island research network.

Recommendations on establishing a network of institutions to support the rollout of consent workshops and the implementation of a peer facilitator training initiative will be discussed.