The reconceptualization of consent in Europe; a feminist discussion of the limitations and possibilities of consent laws in Scandinavia

Abstract

CHARLES UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Department of Gender Studies Luna María Ziirsen-Aineto The Reconceptualization of Consent in Europe; a Feminist Discussion of the Limitations and Possibilities of Consent Laws in Scandinavia Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Ivy Helman, Ph.D Prague 2023 Abstract This research aims to investigate how the consent-based rape legislation of Denmark has been implemented and interpreted within court cases. Furthermore, this paper will shed a light on the complexities inherent to the process of consent negociation within sex, sexual assault and rape. The objective is to challenge the gender-neutral and neo-liberal perception of consent of Denmark, and in turn reveal and challenge the heteronormative structures that persist in our societal comprehension of gender, sex and sexualities. A further discussion will be had on the re-imagining of sex culture and in which ways consent proves to be a limited concept for envisioning an equal and feminist sex culture. A final point will be made regarding the other structural inequalities that are concealed due to the Danish approach to consent, and how this affects the court cases at hand. This research ultimately strives for a re-conceptualization of consent as a gendered concept, one that if not considered as such, will reproduce the...