Abstract
Encouraging young women to ‘just say no’ to sex has become central to education programmes designed to delay sexual initiation and/or to prevent date rape, but little is known about the ways in which young women currently understand and experience sexual refusals. This paper draws on data fromfocus groups with 58, white, heterosexual, school and university student volunteers to explore issues around refusing sex. The transcripts of the groups were reviewed for recurrent themes (illustrated by verbatim data extracts) and a number of barriers to refusing sex were identified, including: concerns about reputation, concerns about relationships, and concerns about the effectiveness of sexual refusals. The implications for programmes designed to prevent premature sexual activity and/or date rape are discussed.