- 60% of students consider pressuring someone into sex until they say yes an assault.
- Female students are far more likely than male students to consider removing a condom during sex without a partner knowing sexual assault (92% vs. 77%).
- More than half (54%) of students say you can determine consent through nonverbal cues, while 45% say consent requires a verbal “yes.”
High-profile sexual assault cases over the past few years have shed light on the fact that women in college are three times as likely to be assaulted. Understanding how college students define sexual assault and consent — as well as how male and female students define the terms differently — is key to tackling the pervasive issue.
A new survey of 1,500 undergraduates finds that 4 in 10 (40%) say pressuring someone into sex until they say yes is not an assault. Students overwhelmingly agree that forcing someone to have sex by holding them down (96%), having sex with someone who is asleep (95%), and groping someone without asking (93%) constitute sexual assault. But far fewer students (60%) consider pressuring someone into sex to be an assault.
Though students broadly agree on many types of sexual assault, there are stark divides among students of different genders and sexual orientations when it comes to certain scenarios. Female students are more likely than their male classmates to consider it sexual assault to have sex with someone who is not coherent from drugs or alcohol (97% vs. 88%) or pressure someone into sex until they say yes (62% vs. 55%).
However, a much wider gender gap exists when it comes to viewing stealthing, which involves removing a condom during sex without your partner knowing, as an assault (92% of female students vs. 77% of male students). LGBTQ students are also more likely than straight students to consider stealthing sexual assault (93% vs. 83%).
Male Students are Less Likely to Classify Situations as Sexual Assault
Percent of students who consider the following scenarios sexual assault.
Students are largely divided on what sexual consent looks like. More than half (54%) of students say you can determine consent through nonverbal cues, while 45% say consent requires a verbal “yes.” Female students are far more likely than male students to say consent requires a verbal “yes” (54% vs. 34%). And there’s a similar divide among Democrats and Republicans who say consent must be verbal (55% vs. 31%).
A strong majority (86%) of students overall say you need to get consent from your partner to have sex when in a relationship, and there’s broad agreement among students of all genders. But Democratic students are significantly more likely than Republican students to say you need to get consent from your significant other in a relationship (92% vs. 75%), and LGBTQ students are more likely than straight students to say the same (93% vs. 83%).
Democrats are More Likely to Say Consent Must be Verbal
Percent of students who say…
About 1 in 10 (11%) students say their school’s education around sexual consent is excellent, leaving room for improvement. Most students say their college’s education around sexual consent is good (49%) or fair (28%). Just 4% of students rate their school’s education around sexual consent as poor, while 8% of students say their college has none.
Nearly two-thirds (66%) of students think all college freshmen should be required to take a class of some sort around sexual consent. But female students are more likely than male students to say so (73% vs. 55%), and there’s an even wider gap between Democrats and Republicans (79% vs. 42%).
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Methodology: This survey was designed and conducted by College Pulse. Interviews were conducted among a sample of 1,500 full-time and part-time students attending four-year colleges or universities in the U.S. who are part of College Pulse’s American College Student Panel.
