What is consent?: Considering the implications of persuasion and coercion

Motivations regarding sexual decision making have been found to differ by gender. Women often feel social pressure to engage in sex, regardless of personal interest, if their partner is making sexual advances. This dynamic often creates a situation in which women may not fully be consenting to sexual behavior. We investigated how interest and persuasion combine to influence sexual decision making in women and men. We surveyed 322 college students at a Southeastern university using an anonymous questionnaire related to sexual behaviors. The majority of the participants were female (75%) and white (73%). Results showed that women were more likely to have sexual contact when they did not want to when compared to men (26.0% vs. 8.7.%, p=0.002). Men, on the other hand, were more likely to persuade someone to have sexual contact with them when compared to women (20.3% vs. 4.8%, p<0.001). Interestingly, there were no statistical differences by gender when students were asked specifically about “forced sexual contact” or “sexual contact without consent.” However, these questions are more black and white than the questions posed above. This may indicate that violence prevention programs are more successful when impacting overt sexual circumstances, for instance, when someone verbally says the word “No.” Social norm messages about empowerment and sexual decision making may help address cultural attitudes in college men and women about expectations regarding sex. Additionally, sexual programming could also be directed toward college men about what counts as sexual consent and developing a better understanding of non-verbal sexual communication.