The Family Education Trust (FET) has warned that university 'kink' and 'BDSM' clubs are putting young students at risk and potentially normalising “sexual fantasies involving children and animals”.
While such clubs have been present on campuses for some time - the University of Durham’s fetish club, for example, has been going for at least a decade - it was an incident at Anglia Ruskin University recently that has provoked renewed concern, The Times recently reported.
First year students at the Fresher’s Fair were approached by older students from the sexual fetish club, who were running a “Kinkster” stall. The students were invited to whip a rubber dummy that was strapped face-down to a table.
One of the students, a young woman, was distressed by the incident but was afraid to report it to the university. The FET said that the prop could fall foul of the university’s policies on harassment and sexual misconduct.
The FET warned that, despite contradictory claims by such clubs that they allow students to carry out dangerous acts safely, there are still risks.
“Such clubs claim they help students explore sexual kinks in a ‘safe way’, but students are highly likely to have their boundaries eroded and pressured into taking part in increasingly risky and degrading acts," it said.
Further concerns were raised about the Anglia Ruskin University kink society’s decision to host a “kink test” quiz on its website. According to the FET, the quiz asks people to say whether they agree or disagree with statements including, "The idea of torturing someone sexually, is appealing"; "I enjoy dressing or behaving like a child, or engaging in child-appropriate activities such as colouring in or a colouring book or going to a playground"; "I like it when my partners plays or acts like a pet animal (dog, cat, pony etc)."
The FET said, “This is not ‘empowering’ – it is sanctioning sexual abuse, as well as implying that sexual fantasies involving children and animals are acceptable. University authorities are failing to safeguard students by allowing such societies to operate freely.”
Anglia Ruskin student union said: “The union exists to represent and support all students. All registered student societies adhere to our code of conduct and policies, which strictly prohibit activities that are unsafe, discriminatory or non-consensual, and we have received no complaints about this society.”
It defended the club's existence in another statement posted to its social media: "We understand that conversations around topics such as kink and sexual expression can provoke strong opinions. However, education and open discussion play an important role in promoting safety, consent, and wellbeing - particularly for young adults navigating independence for the first time."
A University of York spokesman said: “Societies are created and run by students to explore lots of different interests, across all kinds of academic, cultural, sporting and social activities.
“Our students’ union is home to hundreds of affiliated societies, and given our students are independent adults, they are free to decide which ones they wish to join or attend.”
The FET is warning against participation in such clubs and is asking universities to take action.
It said, "There is no way that sexual fetish clubs can guarantee that such sexual acts will not cause harm to young students, therefore university authorities should not allow them to be advertised on campus.”
