Sexual Consent in the Post-#MeToo World: conversations on consent

Kimberly Ferzan is a Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. Her work focuses on criminal law theory.

Kate Greasley is an Associate Professor in Law at the University of Oxford. She is the Principal Investigator for the AHRC-funded project, “Sexual Consent in the Post-#MeToo World: A Study in Philosophy and Law.”

In this conversation, Kimberly and Kate discuss philosophical issues around consent and blameworthiness that underpin the law of rape. Kimberly also reflects on the challenges, and importance, of teaching this subject. The conversation draws on Kimberly’s 2016 paper, “How to Think (Like a Lawyer) About Rape,” published in Criminal Law and Philosophy.

Michelle Madden Dempsey is a Professor of Law at Villanova University. She teaches and writes in the areas of criminal law, feminist legal theory, and philosophy of law.

In this conversation, Michelle and Kate discuss the ethics of holding people accountable for sexual (mis)conduct that took place in the distant past. The conversation draws on Professor Dempsey’s 2021 Ethics paper, “Coercion, Consent, and Time.”

Rachel Tolley is a John Collier Fellow and College Associate Professor in Law at the University of Cambridge. Her main area of research concerns the effect of deception and mistake on the validity of consent to sexual activity in English criminal law.

In this conversation, Rachel and Kate consider the question of what sorts of deceptions nullify a person’s consent to sexual activity. The conversation draws on Dr. Tolley’s 2024 paper, “Harmfulness and Wrongfulness in Sex-by-Deception,” published in Criminal Law and Philosophy.

Quill R. Kukla is a Professor of Philosophy and a Senior Research Scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University, where they are also the director of Disability Studies. Their main areas of research are philosophy of language, philosophy of science, ethics, social epistemology, and anti-oppression philosophy.

In this conversation, Quill and Kate explore how it is possible to consent to sex in a world riven with inequality and power-imbalance. The conversation draws on Professor Kukla’s 2021 Ethics paper, “A Nonideal Theory of Sexual Consent.”

Georgi Gardiner is Associate Professor of Philosophy Tulane University, Louisiana. Among other things, she works on the philosophy of truth and evidence. 

In this conversation, Kate and Georgi speak about believing women, “She Said/He Said” rape allegations, and the problem of undue doubt.

Robin West is Professor of Law and Philosophy Emeritus at Georgetown Law School. She has written widely on feminist legal theory and the law and ethics of consent. 

In this conversation, Robin and Kate discuss how consent came to be the marker of valid sexual conduct, some drawbacks of the over-emphasis on consent in the ethics of sex, and the radical feminist critique of consent.

Aya Gruber is Professor of Law at the University of Southern California, and is a former criminal defence attorney. 

Her monograph, The Feminist War On Crime: The Unexpected Role of Women’s Liberation in Mass Incarceration (UC Press) was released in 2020.