What to do about #MeToo? Consent, autonomy, and restorative justice: A case study

Abstract

This article asks: Is it possible to craft a form of engaged, anti-carceral, feminist political practice that carves out a space for sexual negotiation, exploration, sex positivity, and changing conceptions of consent in an era shaped by hypermediation and, for the purposes of this paper, #MeToo? Five British based academics working in the areas of sexuality studies, law, media studies, and sociology were interviewed on this topic so as to better understand contemporary scholarly attitudes and where current research stands. Each scholar was asked a series of questions around consent as a legal and normative regulator of sexual relations—including its drawbacks, their views on other models of consent—including communicative consent, embodied consent, sexual autonomy—the possibilities for alternative forms of justice, inclusive of prison abolition and restorative justice as they relate to sexual violence, and the kinds of feminism(s) they see developing from this.