Consent cannot be optional: Ireland must resist the backlash against progress

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre’s (DRCC) latest We Consent Benchmark research is both hopeful and sobering. On the surface, Ireland appears to be more engaged with the language of consent than ever before. Nine in ten people say they understand issues around lack of consent, and 90% agree that everyone has the right to change their mind during sex. Almost half of the population wants to learn more about consent, suggesting a genuine appetite for growth.

Yet scratch beneath the surface and troubling contradictions emerge. People believe in their own understanding of consent but doubt that others share it, with only 62% of the general population perceived to have the same awareness. This gap between self-perception and social trust points to a culture that is talking more openly about consent but is still uncertain about how deeply that understanding runs.

The numbers around men’s attitudes are especially alarming. Young men aged 18 to 24 are the least confident in what consent means, with 16% admitting uncertainty. Almost one in four men under 45 say they would “probably keep going” even if they suspected their partner was not enjoying a sexual encounter, a deeply concerning figure that has risen since last year. Nearly half of men under 45 agree with the toxic myth that “sometimes people say no when they want convincing,” a belief that has grown by 8% since 2024. One in ten men believes consent can be assumed if there is no clear objection.

These are not harmless misunderstandings or slips of language. They reveal a persistent belief in sexual entitlement, an undercurrent of coercion dressed up as romance, and a fundamental failure to understand consent as an ongoing process rather than a one-off permission. They show us that while Ireland has made enormous progress in publicly recognising the importance of consent, deep-seated myths continue to erode the safety and dignity of people in intimate settings.

Some of these figures may reflect a paradoxical form of progress. Rachel Morrogh, CEO of the DRCC, suggests that young men’s uncertainty may actually be a sign of greater awareness: that, unlike previous generations who assumed they “just knew,” this generation is grappling with complexity, from power imbalances to non-verbal cues. That hesitation could be constructive – a sign of deeper engagement rather than denial. But it is also a precarious moment. In the absence of strong, ongoing education, uncertainty becomes vulnerability, and into that space step louder, more dangerous voices.

The cultural backlash

It is impossible to separate these findings from the wider cultural climate. Across the world, the gains of the #MeToo movement have provoked a backlash. We see it in the rise of the manosphere – a network of influencers, forums, and media figures who peddle grievance-driven masculinity, often laced with misogyny. Figures like Andrew Tate have built global empires by telling young men that women’s boundaries are obstacles to be overcome, that dominance is natural, and that empathy is weakness.

This rhetoric is not confined to obscure corners of the internet; it is delivered in slick videos, viral clips, and aspirational lifestyles that reach teenagers long before they encounter any formal sex education. For a young man uncertain about his place in a changing society, it offers clarity and control. But it is a clarity built on contempt, and a control that undermines the very foundations of equality.

Ireland is not immune to these currents. The DRCC findings show how myths about “convincing” someone or assuming consent still circulate with disturbing resilience. These myths are not new; they are centuries old, reinforced by films that romanticise pursuit, by advertising that treats women as prizes, by pornography that normalises aggression. What is new is that they are being amplified in real time through digital platforms, often with global reach, and are seeping into the lives of young men at formative stages.

This is why the DRCC is right to call for whole-of-society education that does not end when a student leaves school. The research shows that while 69% of people believe schools must ensure young people understand consent, a full 87% say parents bear responsibility too. Consent cannot be taught in one-off workshops or left to the classroom alone; it must be modelled in families, reinforced in communities and made visible in media, workplaces and cultural institutions. It requires men in particular to be proactive in dismantling harmful myths among their peers. That 76% of respondents say they are comfortable having consent conversations with friends is encouraging, but this drops to 64% of men aged 35–54, suggesting that too many Irish men still find direct conversations about sex and respect difficult.

The fight over consent education

What makes the findings so urgent is the way they intersect with a broader cultural backlash against sex education itself. Around the world, and here in Ireland, educators and campaigners have come under attack from bad-faith actors who misrepresent their work, often deploying the language of protecting children while in fact obstructing the very education that could protect them. These campaigns disproportionately harm women and girls because they reinforce the silence and shame that have always surrounded female sexuality, while leaving men underprepared to engage with relationships responsibly.

The case of Dublin City University (DCU) and its postgraduate diploma in SPHE/RSE provides a striking illustration of how misinformation and culture-war tactics intersect with education. In October 2024, the conservative website Gript published two articles claiming that a postgraduate diploma course at Dublin City University, which trains secondary school teachers in SPHE and RSE, was instructing participants to use sexually explicit language and images in classrooms with children. The allegations, based on the testimony of a former SPHE teacher, anonymous sources, and documents, were false. Earlier this summer, DCU welcomed the Press Ombudsman’s May 2025 decision, which was subsequently upheld by the Press Council in June 2025, regarding misleading reporting by Gript on its postgraduate diploma for teachers.

The Ombudsman found that articles published in October 2024 by Gript, based on the testimony of a former SPHE teacher, contained “no evidence that DCU was doing anything other than running a postgraduate course to enable adult teachers of SPHE/RSE to teach the subject to secondary school children in support of the national curriculum.” In particular, claims that explicit training resources were intended for use with children were categorically dismissed. The decision stated clearly that “adaptation of material so that it is age appropriate is not replication and to suggest otherwise, as the publication does, is distortion.”

One article included an audio clip, secretly recorded through subterfuge, which DCU argued breached the privacy of staff and students. The Ombudsman agreed, noting that it was a private, informal conversation during a break in the course that revealed nothing of investigative import and that its publication could not be justified in the public interest. The Press Council upheld this reasoning in full, stressing that the Council found no error in the Ombudsman’s application of the Press Code of Practice on truth and accuracy, fair procedures and honesty, and privacy.

In July 2025, Gript initiated judicial review proceedings in the High Court, naming DCU and the Press Council as respondents. However, the High Court refused Gript’s application for a stay on the publication of the Press Council’s decision, meaning the ruling remains in force.

For DCU, the outcome vindicates both its academic staff and the integrity of the course, which is designed for adults training to deliver the state curriculum in schools. Yet the very fact that such spurious allegations were able to circulate widely reflects a dangerous dynamic: organised efforts by bad-faith actors to discredit consent and sexuality education, playing into public anxieties and spreading distrust.

What this saga shows is that battles over consent and sexuality education are not about isolated misunderstandings. They are part of an organised campaign to sow distrust, to stigmatise educators, and to create fear among parents. The cost is borne by young people, who are left without the tools to navigate relationships safely, and by women, who continue to pay the highest price when consent is not respected.

Where we go from here

The DRCC research makes it clear that Ireland is at a crossroads. On one side, there is growing openness, a hunger to learn, and the beginnings of cultural change. On the other, there is backlash, distortion, and the reassertion of coercive myths. The future will be determined by which side we nurture.

Consent must be taught not just as prevention of harm but as the foundation of mutual, pleasurable, and respectful sex. It must be embedded in schools, but also reinforced at home, in community spaces, and in the media. Parents cannot outsource the responsibility to teachers, and teachers cannot carry it alone. Everyone has a role.

Men, in particular, must take responsibility. The figures show plainly that the most dangerous myths persist among men under 45, especially younger men. If fathers, brothers, coaches, and friends do not step up to challenge those myths, then the work will fall, once again, on women. That is not only unjust, it is unsustainable.

Ireland has changed profoundly in the past few decades, from the dismantling of Magdalene laundries to the legalisation of abortion and marriage equality. But true equality cannot exist while myths about consent linger in bedrooms, locker rooms, and WhatsApp groups. The DRCC research is not a warning from the margins; it is a call from the centre of Irish society to decide what kind of culture we want to build.

We can allow reactionary voices to dictate the terms, or we can meet uncertainty with education, replace distortion with facts, and counter misogyny with a vision of sex that is free, joyful and equal. The stakes are nothing less than the right of every person in Ireland to safety, dignity and respect in their most intimate encounters.

For more information, visit www.we-consent.ie/resource-hub/