Why the ending of Channel 4's Consent is so disturbing

The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) found that '59 per cent of girls and young women aged 13-21 have been subjected to sexual harassment at school or college', with independent schools, like the fictional sixth form featured in Consent, regularly mentioned in the review.

And to heap misery upon misery, many of those girls and young women haven't spoken out against or reported their trauma because it's considered "a normal experience".

When you're juggling both academic and social pressures, taking on an endeavour as all-consuming and high-risk as toppling the patriarchy can often be a bridge too far.

But in Emma Dennis-Edwards's drama, one victim of sexual violence does stick her head above the parapet.

Scholarship student Natalie, who is part of the first wave of female students to be admitted into the previously all-male college, is raped by her classmate Archie at his 18th birthday party. The pair enjoyed a fun, flirty relationship prior to that night, but his actions, which also included filming the rape and sharing the footage with his friends, put a swift end to that.

There are three strands to Natalie's ordeal: the rape itself, the identity of the perpetrator, and Archie's insistence that he's not guilty of the crime he's committed.

"I would never hurt anyone, ever," he says to his sister, his tone genuine, his cheeks tear-stained. He's entirely in denial. The reality doesn't chime with his sense of self; and it doesn't align with his perception of what it means to be a rapist.

And therein lies the crux of Consent.

Natalie evidently had a crush on Archie and would have admitted it freely to anyone who asked, but at no point did she agree to have sex with him.

Those words were never spoken. She didn't say yes.

Archie, however, had interpreted her behaviour towards him – the dancing, the prolonged eye contact – as the green light to "take care of business", as his friend so eloquently put it.

But those words were never spoken. She didn't say yes because she was unable to. Natalie was incapacitated and as such, she was denied a basic human right: her consent.

When Natalie informs the school, Archie's deep-pocketed parents threaten legal action and as a result, the incident is swept under the rug, leaving her with one option: to leave.

As a working class Black woman, the hurdles she's overcome and those that await her are far greater than those her predominantly white, wealthy, male peers will ever experience. Her scholarship was a rare opportunity to level the playing field marginally, and it was ripped out of her grasp.

Archie, by contrast, not only remains at the school, completely unscathed by the incident, he receives an academic award and an offer to study at Oxbridge. He is one of the school's "brightest" after all, as noted by he headmaster. Men like Archie always land on their feet.

But in the closing moments of Consent, that looks set to change.

When Archie's footage is sent to Natalie by one of his former friends, she has the ammunition she needs to contact the police. We're not privy to what happens after she makes that call, but one would hope justice is done.

It's far from a satisfying ending, however. It doesn't change the fact that she has been raped, the scars of which she'll bear for a lifetime; it doesn't alter the fact that her best friend chose not to believe her, or that the school failed in its duty of care to Natalie; it doesn't erase the shame she was forced to carry because of one man's actions.

It also highlights a horrifying reality: without that video, Natalie's truth would have remained buried. She would have been yet another footnote in the annals of a history littered with the stories of women who haven't been protected or believed.

But now, she has a chance to reclaim her voice, a luxury that many aren't afforded right here, in the real world.

For countless women, that's an impossibility, a dream wrapped up in a nightmare. But through dramas like Consent, the hope for better burns bright.

For information and support, visit the NHS website or Rape Crisis England & Wales.

Consent airs tonight on Channel 4 at 10pm. It's available to stream now on All4.