 |
|
Defining Sexual Consent: The Role of Rape Myth Acceptance and Identification of Nonconsensual Sexual Experiences
by Sabira Ahmed
Faculty Advisor: Cindy Meston, PhD, Graduate Student Mentor: Chelsea D. Kiljmnik, MS
The complexities surrounding real-life sexual consent negotiations make it difficult for undergraduate college students to have a clear understanding of how to conceptualize, communicate, and interpret sexual consent. Certain factors may play a role in how individuals understand consent, such as the endorsement of rape myths (e.g., it is not rape if the victim does not fight back), and how individuals identify previous sexual experiences. This study examined how undergraduate college students define sexual consent and the role of rape myth acceptance, nonconsensual sexual experience (NSE) history, and NSE identification. A total of 1081 undergraduates completed online measures of NSE history and rape myth acceptance, then defined “sexual consent” in their own words. Text analysis revealed eight themes of consent definitions: Substances, Sexual Violence, Nonverbal Communication, Freely Given, Ongoing, Comfort, Permission, and Sexual Activity. Multiple linear regression models with gender covariates found that higher rape myth acceptance was significantly associated with less prominent discussion of the Freely Given theme and more prominent discussion of the Permission theme in consent definitions. College students who did not identity their NSEs with sexual violence labels also had significantly higher rates of rape myth acceptance than identifiers. Students with a narrow understanding of what sexual violence entails (i.e., higher rape myth acceptance) may be less likely to understand the nuances of consent, such that it should be “freely given.” Targeting rape myth acceptance may be a critical component in the development of sexual violence prevention and consent education programs. .