Young men, sexual ethics and sexual negotiation

This paper explores a research and education project seeking positive ways to engage young men in respectful and ethical negotiation within sexual relationships. The experiences of young men aged 16-25 years of age are explored who took part in the Sex & Ethics Violence Prevention Program which was developed in 2006 and continues to be run in several Australian states and in New Zealand. The Program was designed to assist both young women and men to develop enhanced ethical sexual subjectivity and in the process help them to explore diverse gender possibilities in their intimate relationships. This study is located within the international field of violence prevention education. It considers how the young men who took part in this Program between 2009-2011 responded to the opportunity to reflect on their practices within the context of casual and ongoing sexual relationships. The implications of the study for our understandings of masculinities and gender are explored and how sexual ethics may provide a useful approach to assist young people as they navigate their sexual lives.