She Left the Party: College Students’ Meanings of Sexual Consent

2020 ◽  
pp. 107780122091146
Author(s):  
Anne Groggel ◽  
Maddie Burdick ◽  
Angel Barraza
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Interest ◽  
Sexual Consent ◽  
Female Character ◽  
College Sexual Assault ◽  
Gendered Expectations

At a moment when college sexual assault is described as an epidemic, it is important to understand college students’ implicit meanings of consent. Through 83 interviews, we examine students’ interpretations of a vignette in which neither character asked nor gave consent to sex. Gendered expectations significantly shaped whether students interpreted the male or female character as giving consent. When considering how students indicate interest in kissing or having sex, students interpreted acts such as leaving a party as indications of a man’s sexual interest and a woman’s willingness. That is, college students “expected” and employed implicit, gendered readings of actions that inform their understandings of implicit consent.

scholarly journals Factors Influencing Labeling Nonconsensual Sex as Sexual Assault

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1803-1827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica C. Yndo ◽  
Tina Zawacki
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Physical Attractiveness ◽  
Sexual Interest ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Intervention Programs ◽  
Female Character ◽  
Male Character ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Nonconsensual Sex ◽  
Significant Positive Influence

The current study examined the effects of physical attractiveness and sexual interest cues on men’s sexual perceptions of women and whether increases in sexual perceptions of a woman would lead to decreases in labeling of subsequent nonconsensual sex as sexual assault. Two hundred thirty-three male college students ( Mage = 19.17, SD = 1.22) read a vignette describing a hypothetical social interaction between a man and a woman; within the vignette, the female character’s physical attractiveness (attractive vs. less attractive) and the degree to which the female character behaved interested in the male character (uninterested vs. ambiguous) were manipulated. The vignette ends with the male character physically forcing sexual intercourse with the female character. After reading the vignette, participants’ labeling of the nonconsensual sex as sexual assault was addressed. Participants’ perceptions of the female character’s sexual interest in the male character prior to the nonconsensual sex was assessed as a dependent variable during stopping points in the vignette, prior to sexual assault. Both physical attractiveness and interest cues had a significant positive influence on men’s perception of the female character as sexually interested. In addition, perceptions of sexual interest had a direct negative effect on sexual assault labeling. These results indicate that increases in physical attractiveness and interest cues increase perceptions of sexual interest, in turn decreasing the labeling of nonconsensual sex as sexual assault. This experimental research contributes to the literature on misperception of sexual interest and sexual assault labeling. These findings provide implications for intervention programs and for forensic issues related to sexual assault.

The Temporal Character of Sexual Consent among College Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Chin ◽  
Alexander Wamboldt ◽  
Claude Ann Mellins ◽  
Jennifer S. Hirsch ◽  
Shamus R. Khan
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Violence Prevention ◽  
Sexual Contact ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Sexual Consent ◽  
Calendar Time ◽  
Temporal Process ◽  
Temporal Dimensions

The presence or absence of sexual consent distinguishes between sexual contact that is sexual assault and sex that is not assault. While temporality is an implicit focus in studies of sexual consent, it has received relatively little attention as an object of analysis. Drawing on in-depth ethnographic research conducted as part of a mixed methods study on sexual health and sexual assault among college students, this article examines the role of time in sexual consent. Specifically, we attend to how socially- and discursively-patterned experiences of time influence college students' capacity to grant or withhold consent. We identify three important temporalities. “Calendar time” refers to how events throughout the year influence the expectation of sexual contact and the negotiation of sexual consent. “Relationship time” refers to how the temporal dimensions of a sexual relationship impact how consent is navigated. Finally, “sexual time” pushes us to think of sex itself as a temporal process that locates consent at different points in time: before, during, and after a single sexual encounter. We conclude by outlining how time-based approaches to sexual consent may contribute to more effective sexual violence prevention initiatives.

Making the Call: College Students’ Legal Consciousness and Hypothetical Activation of Police for Sexual Assaults

2021 ◽  
pp. 107780122110211
Author(s):  
Trish Oberweis ◽  
Dayna Henry ◽  
Stacey Griner ◽  
Ekaterina Gorislavsky
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Contact ◽  
Legal Consciousness ◽  
Sexual Assault Prevention ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Assault Victims ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Assault Prevention

Research has identified the necessity of sexual assault victims to label their experience as criminal to initiate reporting. However, barriers exist in labeling uninvited sexual contact as criminal. This study examined college students’ assessments of whether eight nonconsensual behaviors met the legal definition of sexual assault, and whether such behaviors should be reported to police. Results indicated students acknowledged the nonconsensual behaviors as criminal; however, gaps were identified between awareness that the acts were criminal and willingness to report to police. Findings demonstrate a need for continued efforts for sexual assault prevention among college students.

College students’ alcohol expectancies and sexual assault bystander behavior

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer R Boyle
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Alcohol Expectancies ◽  
Sexual Assault Prevention ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Bystander Behavior ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Assault Prevention ◽  
College Sexual Assault ◽  
Linear Regressions

Many college sexual assault prevention efforts have focused on the bystander approach. Whilemost sexual assaults among students occur within the context of alcohol, no studies have examined theimpact of alcohol-related factors on bystander behavior. This exploratory study assessed relationshipsbetween students’ alcohol expectancies and the likelihood of intervening in a potential sexual assault.Students(n=220) completed an online survey. Linear regressions were performed. Among men, greateroverall expectancy scores(Stnd.ß=0.375,p=.008) and greater sociability scores(Stnd.ß=0.354,p=.012)were related to greater likelihood of action. Among women, greater self-perception scores were related toless likelihood of action(Stnd.ß=-0.215,p=.010). Explanations for differences between sexes are explored.

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