The afters: creative practice in live action VR for relationship and sex education

This article discusses practice work, The Afters: a live-action narrative drama and Virtual Reality experience. The Afters is a series of two interrelated VR narrative dramas told from the perspectives of a 17-year-old girl and boy. Designed primarily for schools, colleges, and university students for relationships and sex education, this VR narrative aims to help inform young people on the subtleties of verbal and non-verbal communication regarding sexual consent, encouraging conversations around empathy and awareness with peers to help them safely navigate intimate situations in the future. The article aims to discuss the development, creative practice and planned dissemination of this pilot VR experience, evaluating it in the context of traditional study methods within Relationship and Sex Education and existing education interventions in VR. The Afters builds on the reflective auto ethnographic practice methodology of previous Project Mental Abuse Matters, evolving from 1st-person embodiment to various points of view.<br/><br/>

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Publication Details

Journal
Media Practice and Education
Published
2026-02-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/25741136.2026.2622200
Primary Topic
Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

The afters: creative practice in live action VR for relationship and sex education

Lucy Baxter
Media Practice and Education
Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
article

The afters: creative practice in live action VR for relationship and sex education

Lucy Baxter
article en

Abstract

This article discusses practice work, The Afters: a live-action narrative drama and Virtual Reality experience. The Afters is a series of two interrelated VR narrative dramas told from the perspectives of a 17-year-old girl and boy. Designed primarily for schools, colleges, and university students for relationships and sex education, this VR narrative aims to help inform young people on the subtleties of verbal and non-verbal communication regarding sexual consent, encouraging conversations around empathy and awareness with peers to help them safely navigate intimate situations in the future. The article aims to discuss the development, creative practice and planned dissemination of this pilot VR experience, evaluating it in the context of traditional study methods within Relationship and Sex Education and existing education interventions in VR. The Afters builds on the reflective auto ethnographic practice methodology of previous Project Mental Abuse Matters, evolving from 1st-person embodiment to various points of view.<br/><br/>

Media Practice and Education
Queen's University Belfast (GB)
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 70%
Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
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