Students tackle offensive laddish behaviour on university campuses Twelve young men are sitting in a semi circle, talking about how to achieve "positive masculinity." They are all students at Oxford University and most of them play rugby for the university and college teams. They are taking part in a Good Lad workshop, a student-led initiative that has emerged amid concern about a pervasive and corrosive "lad culture" on university campuses in Britain. The topics to be discussed, at Merton College, are sexual harassment, consent, lad "banter," and team initiation ceremonies. No women are taking part, there are not many laughs, and the discussion is serious and considered. It is a million miles from the alcohol-fuelled students" nights where "laddish" behaviour is more likely. Everyone is asked to be as open as they can be and they are told that if they feel uncomfortable during the hour-long session they can leave. Everyone stays. Almost everyone contributes. A few ice-breakers get things started, with the participants asked to rule on the acceptability of certain statements. They move to one side of the room if they feel a statement is completely acceptable, and to the other if completely unacceptable. "A guy grabs an unknown girl's arse in a club" is suggested, and all move to the unacceptable side of the room. The participants get a run-down of the scale of the problem of laddish behaviour, sexual harassment and violence at UK universities. They hear that a NUS survey found one in seven women has been the victim of serious sexual assault or serious physical violence. Joe Illingworth, a postgraduate student is shocked. I had no idea of that statistic. It's just awful. Universities are waking up to the issue of sexual harassment on their campuses; particular concerns have been raised about sports clubs and drinking societies. Pembroke rugby club in Oxford was suspended last year after an email, entitled Free Pussy, was sent out encouraging players to pick a fresher and spike her drink. Last month the men's rugby club at the London School of Economics was disbanded after a sexist, homophobic, leaflet was handed out during freshers" week. To address the crisis, sexual consent workshops are being held in a growing number of universities - though these have been ridiculed by some students and it remains to be seen how effective they are at improving behaviour. The Merton group are asked about common scenarios. You're on a night out with the guys. Pre-game dinner and drinks have taken place. The team is in good spirits, singing and chanting well-known songs. A young woman is coming up the street in the opposite direction to your group. One of your team mates shouts, "hey, you're going in the wrong direction, the party's this way." The woman keeps walking. At this point another team mate shouts, "fine frigid bitch, we don't want your gash anyway."" They have all witnessed similar scenes. Some suggest apologising to the woman and challenging the offenders. One says: "It's pretty hard though. Sometimes you get caught up. In another scenario a man and woman have flirted all evening and she invites him to her room, where they kiss. However, as you go to remove her underwear she stops. She says, "look, I am not sure I am up for this, this has happened a few times recently and I just don't want to continue being that person."" A participant says: "I think it's pretty clear consent has been taken away." Both scenarios trigger thoughtful reactions at the workshop. There are no glib answers, and they respond thoughtfully to each other's comments. They seem to edge towards greater understanding of tricky gender situations. The university workshop challenge is to not just about equipping the participants in order to help them avoid becoming perpetrators, but to encourage them to be positive agents. Dave Llewellyn helped set up Good Lad in January 2013 and has just finished a PhD in medical science. He said: "The idea for the Good Lad workshop came from a realisation that there was not a space for men to discuss issues of gender, sexuality and sex. It's the taboo topic that affects all our lives, but we never talk about it. Good Lad provides a safe space to talk about these things. The hope is that through having these discussions we can start building awareness and have a really positive influence in our social spheres. Llewellyn is an Australian so he regards himself as an observer of British lad culture. "The reality is not pretty," he said. But the culture was not confined either to the UK or to the world of rugby. Could these workshops really make any difference? Jacob Taylor, captain, and full-back, of Oxford's rugby club, has encouraged all of his players to attend the session. A one-off workshop gives you a framework. If you can get half of a team thinking deeply about these issues, it's an intervention strategy. It's a starting point," he said.