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

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.