Is It Rape or Consent? College Men Just Don’t Know
Stephanie A. Navarro Silvera, Eva S. Goldfarb, Amanda S. Birnbaum, Lisa D. Lieberman

TL;DR
College men, especially cisgender heterosexual men, show poor understanding of sexual consent, highlighting the need for better education to prevent sexual assault.
Contribution
The study reveals that cisgender heterosexual men's understanding of consent has not improved over time, despite awareness campaigns.
Findings
Cisgender heterosexual men had poorer consent understanding compared to women and LGBTQ+ students in 2017 and 2022.
Cisgender heterosexual men's consent scores worsened for some items from 2017 to 2022, while other groups improved.
Current consent education fails to address harmful gender norms and engage cisgender heterosexual men effectively.
Abstract
Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue? It has been recognized that sexual violence and misconduct present a major public health crisis on college campuses. Data indicate that women and LGBTQ+ undergraduates are at greater risk for sexual assault and rape than their cisgender male peers. This manuscript adds to literature that broadens the focus of campus sexual violence prevention by examining underlying social and environmental factors that contribute to campus dynamics related to sexual assault and rape. The literature indicates that it is important to consider emerging patterns in the understanding of consent by gender and sexual orientation in colleges’ efforts to address campus safety. This study sought to assess understanding of sexual consent among college students overall, and particularly among those most likely to commit sexual assault,…
Genes, proteins, chemicals, diseases, species, mutations and cell lines named across the full text — each resolved to its canonical identifier and authoritative record.
Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.
Taxonomy
TopicsSexual Assault and Victimization Studies · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Gender, Feminism, and Media
