Affirmative Consent and Assault Ambiguity: Effects on Perceptions of Sexual Assault on College Campuses Amanda Dale Dr. Sarah Gervais Department of Psychology University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Overview Introduction ̶Sexual Assault in College ̶Affirmative Consent ̶Rape Scripts Purpose Hypotheses Methods ̶Consent Conditions ̶Vignette Conditions Results Discussion

Sexual Assault in College Sexual assault is a problem on college campuses ─Nearly 20% of undergraduate women are sexually assaulted (Krebs, Lindquist, Warner, Fisher, & Martin, 2005) Most victims do not report the assault (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner 2000; Fisher, Daigle, Cullen, & Turner, 2003; Koss 1985) Many victims do not characterize their experience as a crime due to: ̶Embarassment, not understanding the legal definition of rape, sympathy for the rapist, self-blame (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner 2000)

Sexual Assault in College Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ─Prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in postsecondary institutions Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (part of VAWA 2013) requires institutions to: ─Adopt a policy prohibiting sexual violence ─Provide prevention training and educational resources ─Follow mandated protocol in response to sexual assault allegations PREVENT at UNL

Affirmative Consent State of California’s Education Code - Section ─“Affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity” ─Neither lack of protest, lack of resistance, nor silence mean consent ─Consent can be revoked at any time ─Consent cannot be granted if the recipient is incapacitated (e.g., due to drugs, alcohol)

Rape Scripts The Rape Script literature suggests: ̶Men and women may have different conceptualizations of what constitutes rape (Clark & Carroll, 2008) ̶Many college students endorse a stranger rape script (Clark & Carroll, 2008; Ryan 1988) However, 90-95% of rapes are perpetrated by someone the victim knew (Abbey, Ross, McDuffie, & McAuslan, 1996; Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000) ̶College students’ rape and seduction scripts have similar elements Manipulative tactics by the man, sexual interest by the woman, substance use (Littleton & Axsom, 2003)

Purpose Assess how awareness of affirmative consent policies influence perceptions of a vignette describing a sexual assault Determine if these effects differ based on the ambiguity of the sexual assault

Hypotheses Participants provided with a definition of affirmative consent will be more likely to: ─Assign more responsibility and endorse greater consequences for the perpetrator ─Perceive a higher degree of victim suffering ─Be willing to intervene and provide victim support ─Report consent was not granted and label the encounter as a sexual assault These effects will be greater for those who read a vignette in which consent is less ambiguous

Methods 3 X 3 Design Manipulation 1: Consent Definition (Section of the State of California’s Education Code, 2014) ─Affirmative with details ─Affirmative only ─Non-affirmative Manipulation 2: Vignette (Loughnan et al., 2013) ─Physical Force (Low Ambiguity) ─Verbal Coercion (Medium Ambiguity) ─Ambiguous (High Ambiguity)

Consent Conditions (Affirmative consent/Consent) means (affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement/agreement) to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that he or she has the (affirmative consent/consent) of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.

Vignette Conditions Mike and Laura sat on the sofa and started watching television. Mike then began kissing Laura and touching her breasts. To begin with Laura kissed back, until Mike started kissing her harder. At this point, Laura said wasn’t sure she want to go any further, but Mike. Laura said nothing, and Mike proceeded to have sex with her. Physical Force: pinned her arms and legs down Verbal Coercion: verbally pressured her Ambiguous: kept kissing her

Results Overview Analyses ̶A 3 X 3 Univariate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was conducted for each dependent variable Consent Main Effects ̶Perpetrator Recovery Time ̶Hopeful About Decision Vignette Main Effects ̶Perceptions of the Victim ̶Perceptions of the Perpetrator ̶Perceptions of the scenario No Significant interaction effects

A AB B A A B Note. Means not sharing a superscript across the three conditions differ at p <.05

AB A B A B B A B B Note. Means not sharing a superscript across the three conditions differ at p <.05

A BB A B B A B B

Discussion Providing a definition of affirmative consent has a limited influence on perceptions of sexual assault. ̶Perpetrator Recovery Time ̶Hopeful about Decision Perhaps a more thorough instruction is needed: ̶Conducting workshops is an effective way of increasing college students’ knowledge of consent (Borges, Banyard, & Moynihan 2008). Perceptions of sexual assault are influenced by ambiguity ̶Supports the need for an affirmative consent standard

Limitations & Future Research Not a sample of college students ̶Although a general population sample does provide an important perspective ̶Only provides information on perspectives, not actual behaviors Future research ̶Replicate the current study with undergraduates ̶Investigate alternate strategies of implementing an affirmative consent standard ̶Prospective study to examine behavioral effects

Acknowledgements Dr. Sarah Gervais, UNL Faculty Mentor Abbey Riemer, Graduate Student Mentor UNL McNair Scholars Program