The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
‘Consent’ pamphlet recalled after outcry
University: Student group’ s publication stirs up controversy
A student group has come under fire over pamphlets that claim smiling and laughter could be taken as “possible signs of consent”.
The Aberdeen Consent Awareness and Sexual Education group was set up to “create a culture of consent” at Aberdeen University.
But the society has now recalled pamphlets aimed at educating young people in responsible behaviour.
They had advised that “laughter”, “smiling” and “direct eye contact” were all “possible signs of consent”.
One female student, who asked not to be named, said she was “disappointed” by the situation. She said: “It is quite disappointing that this was found on campus, given the recent consent crisis in the past few years at universities.
“Consent should always be verbal, and it’s not confusing.
“It is a clear yes or no, and I think it is a shame that there seems to be such confusion.”
The leaflet also lists “active” or “open” body language as “possible examples of non-verbal consent”, along with “direct eye contact” and “initiating sensual touch”.
It gives examples of non-verbal signs for a lack of consent – such as
“avoiding eye contact”, “pushing someone away” and “fearful expressions”.
The student group describes itself as promoting “a culture of consent” within the university.
Its Facebook page says it offers a “supportive environment for survivors”.
Members last night insisted that the purpose of the pamphlets was to educate people on the complexities of communication.
But they apologised for any “distress and confusion” caused.
A statement released by the group said: “We are aware that some people have reacted to the inclusion of non-verbal signs of possible consent, since these are not consent without verbal cues.
“We completely agree with this.
“Unfortunately, this was not clear enough in our recent pamphlet – which we are now taking out of circulation.
“We have heard the criticisms and will be working on making this clear for future iterations of our pamphlet, and will make changes to proofreading of future versions of our publications.”
Aberdeenshire East MSP, Gillian Martin, said she welcomed the recall of the pamphlets in the wake of feedback made to the group from other students. She added: “I hope that, by working together with the students, the university can put out material that is effective and gets the message across that consent should always be enthusiastically and clearly given with no room for doubt.”
A university spokeswoman said: “The leaflet referenced was produced by a student group and the university had no input into its content.
“We take the welfare of all our students and staff extremely seriously and the university constantly reviews and makes enhancements to its support services.”