Close to one in four young men say they would probably not stop a sexual encounter if they suspected their partner was not enjoying it, new research by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has found. 

As part of the organisation’s We Consent campaign, the DRCC found a number of “persistent myths, misunderstandings, and troubling attitudes”.

Among men aged 18 to 24, 16% are unsure what consent means and among those under 45, 23% said they would “probably keep going” if they thought their partner was not enjoying a sexual encounter. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, DRCC board member and school teacher Eoghan Cleary said the findings underlined the need for a “grownup conversation” about consent. 

“Not being on board with somebody else’s enjoyment or pleasure is a lack of understanding around consent and personal boundaries,” he said. 

“As a man in that age bracket myself, I think we need to have a really open, grownup conversation as men under 45 in this country as to why a quarter of us wouldn’t stop if we suspected the person we were engaged with sexually isn’t enjoying it. 

“Why wouldn’t we want to ensure that our partner isn’t enjoying the sex we’re sharing with them? And wouldn’t we stop if we thought they weren’t?” 

A couple with a condom. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Mr Clearly said there is clearly “still some work to be done”, particularly with young men, given those aged between 18 and 24 are the least confident in their understanding of consent. 

“To me, as someone who teaches in secondary school, that makes a lot of sense,” he said. 

“These are the guys who left secondary school and they didn’t get any of the new SPHE teaching at senior or junior cycle. 

“But they know consent is important and they want to know more about it - which is great. 

“It just really, really enforces the need for SPHE to be taken as seriously as possible in schools and for teachers, in particular, to be trained in these topics.” 

A man holding condom package. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Mr Clearly added that the research does have “some positives” in it. 

“93% of people in Ireland say they understand issues around lack of consent - which is great,” he said. 

“90% agree that everyone has the right to change their mind at any point during a sexual encounter; this understanding of the ongoing nature of consent is steadily growing every year - which is great. 

“The other really positive thing is that almost half the population, who maybe don’t feel as confident in their understanding, say they want to find out more and they want to learn more about consent.”

Main image: A couple holding hands. Picture by: Alamy.com.