Online Program

331697
Affirmative Consent Policies and Affirmative Approaches to Sexual Assault Prevention Education: Are they One in the Same?


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 8:30 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.

Kristen Jozkowski, PhD, Public Health, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
Sexual assault remains a pervasive public health issue particularly among college students in the US. In the wake of mainstream media’s calling attention to this problem, colleges and universities have implemented policies and programming to address sexual violence. In 2014, for instance, the California legislature passed legislation that directed the state’s public institutions of higher education to implement an affirmative-consent (i.e., “yes means yes”) policy in regard to sexual encounters among students. Other state legislatures have discussed legislation to implement such policies in their state institutions of higher education as well. According to an affirmative consent policy, students need to verbally and explicitly agree to engage in sexual activity. Promotion of clear consent and refusal communication by means of such a policy may help alleviate some instances of nonconsensual sex by forcing people to be more explicit in regard to their consent negotiations. However, the cultural context in which sexual violence and consent communication occurs on college campuses complicates matters which may impact the realistic implementation of such policies. This presentation will examine current consent-negotiation practices and norms among college students by summarizing and synthesizing empirical data from two studies utilizing mixed methods. Study One consists of surveys collected from college students (n = 542) at multiple universities examining gender differences in consent communication.  Study Two consists of semi-structured interviews (n = 30) examining conversational and cultural norms among college students which influence consent communication. Recommendations for affirmative consent policies and sexual assault prevention education will be discussed.

Learning Areas:

Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the various ways in which college students conceptualize consent. Describe how factors such as gender norms, conversation norms and cultural norms influence consent communication among college students. Describe the implications for sexual assault prevention education and specifically affirmative consent policies derived from the current study’s understanding of consent communication.

Keyword(s): College Students, Sexual Assault

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I earned my PhD in Health Behavior from Indiana University and have published several peer-reviewed articles focused on sexual consent and young adults.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.