Components of Sexual Consent: Gender Differences in Recognition
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Author
Lima, Ana Paula
Publisher
Washburn University
Sponsor
Department of Psychology
Issue Date
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Abstract
Sexual assault is a pervasive problem in current society (Jozkowski, 2011). Individuals
who have been sexually assaulted may experience significant negative physical and mental
health consequences (Ullman & Brecklin, 2003). To decrease the prevalence of sexual assaults,
multiple intervention programs have been developed; however, prevalence rates of sexual assault
among college students have not declined in nearly five decades (Beres, 2007; Carmody, 2005;
Schulhofer, 1998). Understanding sexual assault may become difficult because definitions vary.
One approach is to define consent according to its components: Limited, Active, Willing, and
Withdrawn (LAWW; Lima et al., 2018). The present study examined gender differences in the
understanding of consent utilizing the LAWW component model of consent. A total of four
vignettes were created, each showing a violation of a different component of LAWW consent
presented in a scenario depicting sexual assault. Participants were randomly assigned to one of
four vignettes and asked to rate the extent to which they believed consent was violated, and
described what, if anything, was wrong with the scenario. We found significant gender
differences in both recognition of consent and accuracy of identification, in that women were
better at recognizing a violation of consent and could more accurately identify the components of
consent compared to men. Most men and women identified the perpetrator in the vignettes as
male, regardless of sexual orientation; however, women were more likely to identify the
perpetrator as male. These results can be used to help identify areas of improvement in sexual
assault prevention programs.