King’s students revealed to be indifferent about compulsory consent classes

King’s students appear to have mixed views on whether compulsory consent classes are actually worthwhile.

477 members of King’s College London took part in The Tab’s survey, and over half of the responses (51 per cent) expressed an opinion that sexual consent classes should indeed be compulsory, however further stats are more negative.

A significant 42 per cent believe them to be patronising, 15 per cent said they had ever been to such classes and 2 per cent of respondents have indeed walked out of them.

On the other hand, if the numbers show that compulsory classes on what constitutes sexual consent and how to ensure it are a cause of unease and uncertainty amongst our students, then it’s a good thing there are other available means of spreading awareness on the topic on offer at King’s.

Though there are currently no consent classes being offered by King’s, there is the ‘It Stops Here’ campaign, a joint effort of King’s and KCLSU to promote awareness about sexual harassment and prevent its spread.

There was also a recent talk titled ‘What is consent? The stigma surrounding sexual violence’, and they will be hosting  another talk on sexual violence and queerness this evening at 6pm.

In current times, when news of sexual harassment and violence on university campuses worldwide have become tragically frequent, it is certainly an outspoken and decisively positive measure to have initiatives like these taking place here at King’s.