Authors: Anvith Potluri, Kevin Li, Kevin Nguyen, & Varad Thorat
The nature of sexual consent should be in an environment where both involved parties involved feel comfortable with responding with regards to their own desires and not due to pressure. An instance where either party might be unable to respond with regards to their own desires is a situation where there is “an abuse of power,” according to Carmon. In these situations, even if verbal consent is given, it may not be due to the person in question wanting to consent, but instead being forced to consent. In a deontological framework, if one party is forced to consent by the other, the oppressor is acting unethically as he or she is forcing upon the other party something against their will.
However, it may be difficult for the oppressed, which are frequently women, to do much about their situations. It has become “a game for men to overcome a woman’s resistance.” What can be done by bystanders is to help prevent oppressive situations, but that might not be so easy. Instead, societal norms should be changed. According to Friedman, we need to correctly model sexual communication. In a virtue based framework, people should be taught to be virtuous in these situations.
Technology is another outlet that can help with sexual abuse. The online #MeToo movement can connect victims of sexual harassment and prevent abuse from happening in the future. While it may be difficult to speak up in person, online anonymized forums can give people voices. Unfortunately, technology has also generated “sexting,” which leads to the problem of youth not knowing how to behave online, according to Madigan. In a utilitarian framework, the impacts of sexting are clearly negative in many circumstances, making it quite problematic. The result might include bullying, or harassment, when the photos and messages get shared beyond the intended recipient.
Work Cited:
- Carmon, Irin. “Why Are so Many Men Confused about What Sexual Consent Means?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 13 Oct. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/what-counts-as-improper-sexual-contact-its-becoming-harder-to-tell/2017/10/13/b15506c6-af8e-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html.
- Friedman, Jaclyn. “‘I’m a Sexual Consent Educator. Here’s What’s Missing in the Aziz Ansari Conversation.”.” Vox, Vox, 19 Jan. 2018, www.vox.com/first-person/2018/1/19/16907246/sexual-consent-educator-aziz-ansari.
- Madigan, Sheri, et al. “Why Sexting Must Be on the Curriculum.” The Conversation, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2019, theconversation.com/why-sexting-must-be-on-the-curriculum-96457.
Ethics in Computer Science 