Sex, Deception & Consent Workshop

To mark the UN’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, Dr Robbie Arrell organised a 1-day workshop on ‘Sex, Deception & Consent’.

There has been growing debate in recent years around whether lying to someone to get them to have sex with you could in some circumstances constitute what has come to be termed “rape by deception”.

Crudely speaking, the crux of the debate is this: if unconsented-to sex constitutes rape, and deception vitiates consent, then it follows that sexual activity obtained by means of deception constitutes rape.

The problem is that few, it seems, are prepared to accept that any and all material deception turns sex into rape. But, if not, then it appears that we may be forced to relinquish one or both of two widely held claims: that deception vitiates consent and/or that unconsented-to sex constitutes rape.

Various solutions to this “riddle” have been advanced by scholars from a range of different disciplinary backgrounds, but the debate remains far from settled. The aim of this workshop is to instigate further cross-disciplinary dialogue on the topic with a view to sharpening our understanding of the issues around deception-based sexual violence and what can and ought to be done in the face of them.

This workshop brings together a selection of commentators that are actively researching issues around sex, deception and consent from the distinct vantage points of their various disciplines, including philosophy, law, political science, health communication and media, and cultural and literary theory.’

Programme:

Talk 1: Permissible Deception, Valid Consent, and Unethical Sex - Danielle Bromwich (University of Leeds)

Talk 2: A Joint-Intentional Account of Sex-by-Deception - Paddy McQueen (Swansea University)

Talk 3: Defeating Sexual Consent - Talita Ferrantelli (LSE)

Talk 4: Rape by Deception in Popular Culture - Evie Kendal (Swinburne University of Technology), Lenise Prater (Deakin University)

Talk 5: The Wrongfulness of Deceptive Sexual Relations:Towards a Thick Account - Matthew Gibson (University of Birmingham)

Talk 6: Reforming the Relationship between Sexual Consent, Deception & Mistake - John Child (University of Birmingham)