Week ‘Seks’ moving with the times: Birds and the bees joined by consent

Sex & Samfund will this week be doing its best to educate school children that permission to kiss does not necessarily greenlight a sexual act

Week Six is upon us … or Uge Seks, as they say at the Danish public schools with a knowing wink.

Can’t be a coincidence that Sex & Samfund has chosen this particular week to take over the syllabus with its annual focus on sex education.

Accordingly, Danish school children are a knowing bunch, although there is a new addition this year that some have apparently been struggling with: the notion of consent.

More rape reports last year
Since the beginning of last year, it has been necessary to establish consent before sexual intercourse. 

And just last month, the authorities confirmed that the number of reported rapes has risen – an indication that many had not wanted to have sex but been let down by a law that recognised their silence as a form of consent. 

Nevertheless, according to a Sex & Samfund survey, every fourth person aged 16-29 has expressed doubt about whether they have exceeded boundaries in regard to consent.

READ MORE: Rape cases increased in 2021. Here’s why

Lots to learn
Sex & Samfund is confident the children will be attentive during the classes.

“It is a concept that has received renewed attention due to the new consent law,” explained Sex & Samfund project manager Pernille Ane Egebæk to DR.

“In addition, there have been high #MeToo numbers, which indicate that there are very many people who actually don’t know if are exceeding other people’s boundaries without knowing it.” 

Consent through all the bases
It is perhaps worrying that half of the respondents in the Sex & Samfund survey confessed to giving their consent to something sexual, even if they did not want to.

The onus, therefore, is on the students learning about signals: for example, knowing that consent to a kiss is not greenlighting a sexual act.

Health and sex education is a compulsory subject for all grades at the country’s public schools: so ages six through to 16. 




Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.


  • “It’s possible to lead even though you don’t fit the traditional leadership mold”

    “It’s possible to lead even though you don’t fit the traditional leadership mold”

    Describing herself as a “DEI poster child,” being queer, neurodivergent and an international in Denmark didn’t stop Laurence Paquette from climbing the infamous corporate ladder to become Marketing Vice President (VP) at Vestas. Arrived in 2006 from Quebec, Laurence Paquette unpacks the implications of exposing your true self at work, in a country that lets little leeway for individuality

  • Deal reached to bring more foreign workers to Denmark

    Deal reached to bring more foreign workers to Denmark

    Agreement between unions and employers allows more foreign workers in Denmark under lower salary requirements, with new ID card rules and oversight to prevent social dumping and ensure fair conditions.

  • New association helps international nurses and doctors Denmark

    New association helps international nurses and doctors Denmark

    Kadre Darman was founded this year to support foreign-trained healthcare professionals facing challenges with difficult authorisation processes, visa procedures, and language barriers, aiming to help them find jobs and contribute to Denmark’s healthcare system