Breaking the silence | Building a consent culture: Education, law and accountability
Women look beyond what is broken, pointing to better education, stronger institutions and deeper cultural change as the path to making consent a lived social norm rather than an exception
If the first three sections diagnose the problem, this one asks what will fix it. The questions examine what women received—education, legal protection and institutional support—and what they want for the next generation. The answers therein amount to the survey’s clearest mandate.
If the first three sections diagnose the problem, this one asks what will fix it. The questions examine what women received—education, legal protection and institutional support—and what they want for the next generation. The answers therein amount to the survey’s clearest mandate.
Let’s begin with what was missing. Only 54 per cent received any formal education or workshop on consent and boundaries in school or college. Worse, 44 per cent say they were never taught that silence or non-resistance could be interpreted as agreement. Only a slim majority (55 per cent) learnt about ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’ as children, leaving a large minority without even a basic vocabulary to recognise abuse.
The legal architecture exists, but trust in it remains shallow. Two-thirds of respondents are aware of protections such as the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace) Act, the Supreme Court’s Vishaka guidelines, helpline numbers and the provision for a zero FIR. Yet only 27 per cent consider POSH mechanisms ‘very effective’, while 15 per cent have no knowledge of them. The verdict on the legal reforms introduced after the 2012 ‘Nirbhaya’ rape case in Delhi is equally sobering. Only 42 per cent believe women’s safety has improved significantly or somewhat since those stricter laws were enacted, while one-third say there has been no improvement or that the situation has worsened.
Their prescription, therefore, goes beyond legislation. Asked what would most effectively reduce crimes against women, respondents placed parenting ahead of policing: 65 per cent said sons must be raised to respect women, compared with 58 per cent who favoured harsher punishment. Similarly, when asked who bears the greatest responsibility for building a culture of consent, families ranked first at 58 per cent, followed by schools and colleges at 54 per cent—ahead of law and policy.
The strongest consensus is on education. Eighty-six per cent want consent education to be mandatory in schools and colleges, with the largest share (40 per cent) saying it should begin between the ages of 10 and 14. Another 85 per cent say they will personally teach younger girls about consent and the right to refuse. The message is unmistakable. Women who grew up without the language of consent are determined that the next generation will not.
