I have been greatly disturbed by four recent videos. The first one [people talking] about a football coach who allegedly sexually abused an underage boy; then a young girl in a school uniform in the bedroom of a man [or a boy] during school hours; head teachers engaged in intimate positions with female students, and a young man stating in a video that teachers should be paid a “self-control allowance” for not sleeping with their female students.
To me, these reports highlight the importance of tackling the complex and nuanced concept of consent. It is a foundational principle in ethical behaviour, personal relationships, law, healthcare, research, and digital life. At its core, consent is about respecting a person’s autonomy, their right to make decisions about their own body, data, and experiences. Although the concept may seem straightforward, in practice it is often misunderstood or oversimplified.
This article explores what consent is, why it matters, and the challenges societies face in ensuring that consent is meaningful and respected. I will begin by highlighting the dynamics of consent in general, and then narrow it down to sexual consent, especially in education settings.
What Is Consent?
Consent is a clear, voluntary, and informed agreement. It has several key elements. Voluntariness: It must be freely given without the influence of power dynamics, pressure, manipulation, coercion, or fear. This implies that if someone feels threatened, intimidated, or unable to say no, their consent is not valid.
Informed Decision: Consent should be truly informed. All parties must understand what they are agreeing to, be it a medical procedure, a data policy, or a personal boundary.
Capacity: To consent, an individual must have the ability to understand the decision. Factors like age, cognitive ability, sobriety, intoxication, and certain mental states can affect capacity.
Specificity: Consent is not a blanket permission. Agreeing to one thing does not imply agreement to another; it must be specific to the situation at hand.
Clear Agreement: Yes, means yes. No means no. There is no in-between. This cannot be assumed nor deduced from silence or previous agreement.
Ongoing: Consent is not a one-time moment; it is a continuous, checked-in process.
Reversibility: It can be withdrawn at any time. Saying “yes” once does not bind someone forever.
Why Consent Matters:
Consent promotes safety and respect; it prevents misunderstandings, builds trust, honest communication, and protects personal boundaries.
Legal and Ethical Accountability
Many laws, professional codes, and international human rights frameworks rely on consent as a standard for determining right from wrong.
Respect for Autonomy: Consent is tied to human dignity. It affirms a person’s right to make decisions about themselves rather than being acted upon by others.
Protection from Harm and Exploitation: Meaningful consent helps prevent abuses of power, whether in personal relationships, workplaces or learning institutions. It sets ethical and legal boundaries.
Building Trust: In healthy relationships, whether romantic, professional, medical, or digital, consent promotes open communication, clarity, and mutual respect.
Contexts Where Consent Plays a Critical Role
Personal and Sexual Relationships: Sexual consent requires explicit, enthusiastic agreement. Misunderstanding or ignoring consent can lead to violations of personal boundaries and, in many cases, criminal offences.
Medical Treatment: Healthcare providers must obtain patients’ informed consent before performing procedures or administering treatments. This ensures patients understand risks, benefits, and alternatives.
Research and Science: Research participants must voluntarily agree to partake in studies and be informed about methods, risks, and the use of their data. This standard protects individuals and maintains scientific integrity.
Digital Life and Data Privacy: Online platforms routinely request consent for data collection and tracking. However, consent is often buried in lengthy terms-of-service documents, raising questions about how informed it really is. How many of us read lengthy policies online before clicking accept? A Deloitte survey found that 91% of consumers consent to the terms of service without reading them.
Workplaces and Power Dynamics: Consent becomes more complex when power imbalances exist, such as employer–employee relationships, because subordinates may feel pressured to comply even without explicit coercion.
Common Challenges Surrounding Consent
Power Imbalances: Consent can be compromised when one party has more social, economic, or institutional power. Pressure or fear, whether spoken or unspoken, can make refusal difficult.
Ambiguity and Miscommunication: Assumptions, social norms, or unclear cues can lead to misunderstandings. Therefore, clear, explicit communication is essential.
Cultural Differences: Perceptions of autonomy, authority, and privacy vary across cultures. This influences how consent is understood and practiced.
Consent Fatigue: In digital environments, constant pop-ups requesting consent (often without real alternatives) can lead to people clicking “Agree” without reflection.
Let’s now Explore the Complex and Sensitive issue of Sexual Consent between Students and Teachers
Sexual Consent Between Students and Teachers: Understanding the Risks and Realities
The sexual harassment of students is a growing concern that must be addressed to safeguard young people. Sexual consent is a serious topic with legal, ethical, and power-dynamic dimensions. Sexual relationships between students and teachers raise profound concerns. Even when they seem “consensual,” the dynamics involved often make real, freely-given consent deeply problematic. Educational institutions, legal systems, and society broadly treat these situations differently from peer relationships, and this is for a good reason.
Power Imbalance and “Position of Trust”
A key issue is the power imbalance in teacher-student relationships. Teachers have authority: they assess academic performance, control grades, discipline, and often serve as mentors and provide “pastoral” services. These power dynamics mean that any sexual or romantic relationship is inherently unbalanced. This is synonymous with workplace relationships. Although not explicitly prohibited by law, it’s not encouraged because it could lead to unfair treatment or create a conflict of interest.
Under the Abuse of Trust legislation in the UK, it is illegal for someone in a “position of trust” (such as a teacher) to engage in sexual activity with someone under the age of 18, even if that student is over the age of consent (16). The law treats these relationships not just as a matter of sexual consent, but as a breach of professional trust.
Legal Framework and Policies
The term ‘indecent assault’ in section 103 of Ghana’s Criminal and Other Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) criminalises sexual harassment and assault. Also, according to UK law (Sexual Offences Act 2003), teachers can be prosecuted for engaging in sexual activity with a student aged 16–17. At the university level, many institutions prohibit sexual relationships between staff and students where there is a power differential. For example, the office for students, UK, requires institutions to address harassment and sexual misconduct – part of which involves managing conflicts of interest and abuse of power in relationships between staff and students. Some institutions go further: for example, St Hugh’s College (Oxford) states that even if a student seems to give consent, any romantic or sexual relationship between a student and a staff member who has academic or pastoral responsibility is always inappropriate.
Why “Consent” Is Not Enough
Even in cases where a student seems to “agree” to a relationship, there are additional factors that complicate real consent:
Vulnerability: Students may feel unable to refuse advances because of the risk to their academic progression or the fear of negative consequences.
Coercion and grooming risk: What looks like a consensual relationship can mask grooming behaviour; an adult in authority may subtly manipulate or pressure a student.
Institutional risk and fairness: Such relationships can lead to claims of favouritism, harassment, or unfair treatment, either from other students or institutional bodies.
Long-term professional consequences: Workplace relationships, for example, could lead to disciplinary action, damage to reputation, or worse, cross ethical or legal boundaries. A clear example is the recent Coldplay Kiss Cam that triggered formal investigations into Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR head Kristin Cabot. Read more.
Ethical and Educational Considerations
Legal vs. Ethical Consent: What is legally permissible is not always ethically adequate. For example, someone might legally consent to something they feel pressured to accept. This, underscores the need to move towards a culture of consent to create a consent-conscious society. This would require education from early ages about boundaries, respect, and autonomy. There should be clear communication, both verbal and nonverbal. Transparency, especially in healthcare and digital platforms, must be upheld. Policies must be instituted to protect vulnerable individuals and address power imbalances.
Professional boundaries: Teachers have a duty of care, not only to deliver education but to safeguard students. Crossing into sexual relationships can undermine that duty.
Consent education: Teaching about consent is critical: initiatives like the Schools Consent Project can help provide workshops in schools to help students understand their rights, boundaries, and how to communicate consent.
Policy clarity: Educational institutions should have clear and enforced policies. These should define boundaries, explain disciplinary consequences, and provide reporting mechanisms.
Support and reporting: Students should feel empowered to report inappropriate behaviour and be educated on how to prevent abuse from people in positions of authority. Institutions must provide safe and confidential avenues to facilitate the process.
Recommendations
Here are clear, practical, and responsible recommendations to help protect students from sexual abuse by teachers or any authority figure. These strategies can apply to schools, parents, and communities.
How to Ask or Communicate Consent: Normalise asking for and giving explicit consent. Use clear, direct language: “Do you want to …?”. Check in: “Are you okay with this?”. Respect non-verbal cues (but don’t rely on them alone). Be okay with a “no” or “not right now”.
Strengthen School Policies and Safeguards
Clear Codes of Conduct: Schools should have explicit, written policies defining appropriate and inappropriate teacher–student interactions. These policies should include rules for communication (e.g., no private messaging, no physical contact beyond professional norms).
Background Checks: A rigorous background and reference checks for all employees and volunteers. Mandatory Reporting Procedures. Ensure all staff understand how to identify and report suspicious behaviours.Procedures should allow anonymous reporting and protect whistleblowers from retaliation.
Physical Safety Measures: Keep doors to classrooms and offices with students open or with glass windows. Avoid situations where a teacher is alone and unobservable with a student.
Empower Students
Education About Boundaries: Provide age-appropriate lessons on Comprehensive Sexual Education, Personal boundaries, Consent, and what healthy versus concerning adult behaviourlooks like.
Teach Students Their Rights: Students should knowthat no teacher is allowed to make them uncomfortable. They can say “no” to inappropriate behaviour. They can always talk to a trusted adult. Additionally, embedding consent education in the curriculum at an early stage is an utmost importance.
Multiple Reporting Channels: Create safe, accessible ways for students to report concerns: School counsellor. Hotline. Online reporting form. Trusted teacher or administrator. And an On-site Safeguarding Officer.
Strengthen Parent Involvement
Open Communication: Encourage parents to talk often with their children about their day, their teachers, and how they feel at school. Teach children that they can talk about anything without fear of punishment.
Monitor Interactions: Parents should be alert for: Excessive gifts or attention from a teacher. Private communication between teacher and child. Sudden changes in the child’s behaviour or performance.
Train School Staff
Professional Boundaries Training: Annual training on red-flag behaviours, recognising grooming patterns, and reportingmechanisms. Holistic Intervention: Empower all school personnel, not just teachers, but all stakeholders, to intervene or report when they see behaviour that seems inappropriate.
Improve School Culture – Zero-Tolerance Environment: Any misconduct must be taken seriously and investigated promptly.Promote a culture where adults and students feel safe speaking up.
Student Support Systems: Increase the presence of counsellors, social workers, and mentors so that students have multiple trusted adults.
Use Technology Safely
Professional Communication Only: All digital communications should: Occur only through school-approved platforms. Be visible to administrators. Never be one-on-one private texting or social media messaging.
Monitoring and Audits: Regularly review electronic communication logs when appropriate and permitted.
Ensure Accountability
Schools or regulatory bodies must be accountable for how they handle allegations. There must be an independent body (e.g., district-level team) to handle complaints. Document all allegations, investigations, and outcomes transparently, while protecting confidentiality. Educators who abuse their authority by harassing students should not just lose their jobs, but they must also face the law to act as a deterrent to others, and restore student confidence in the institution.
Conclusion
Consent is not just a formal requirement; it is an ethical cornerstone of personal freedom, safety, and respect. As societies grapple with issues like privacy, bodily autonomy, and power dynamics, understanding and implementing meaningful consent becomes more important than ever. By ensuring clarity, communication, and respect, individuals and institutions can create safer and more equitable environments for everyone.
Sexual consent between students and teachers is not a simple yes-or-no issue. Even if a student agrees, the inherent power imbalance, legal prohibitions, and ethical responsibilities mean that many such relationships are deeply problematic. Policies, education, and regulation all play a crucial role in protecting students and holding educators to professional standards.
About the Author
Dr Abena Nyarkoa is a Lecturer and a Gender Analyst. She is also the Founder of the Nkunim Education Project and a co-founder of Trade Growth Network.
