ABSTRACT

University affirmative consent (AC) policies indicate that potential sexual partners must give a clear ‘yes,’ confirming that they wish to engage in sexual activity. A lack of resistance or a failure to say ‘no’ is not enough to convey consent. These policies are critically important to both men and women, as they convey whether a student has committed a crime; yet, little is known about sentiment toward such policies. In general, understanding community sentiment is important to ensure that legal actions have the support (and ultimately, compliance) of the people who must obey them. This study investigated the support of two communities: students who are directly affected by AC polices, and community members who are not. Participants indicated their support for affirmative consent policies, beliefs about the effectiveness of affirmative consent policies, and beliefs about whether they themselves or college students would be able to comply with the policies. Sentiment toward affirmative consent polices was high (positive), although agreement that college students would be able to follow these policies was lower. Further, there was variation in sentiment, with females and students having more positive sentiment compared to males and community members. Implications for policymakers and education about AC policies are offered.

摘要

大学的肯定同意（AC）政策表明，潜在的性伴侣必须给出明确的“是”，以确认他们希望从事性活动。缺乏抵抗力或不说“不”不足以传达同意。这些政策对于男人和女人都至关重要，因为它们传达了学生是否犯罪。然而，人们对这种政策的看法知之甚少。一般而言，了解社区情绪对于确保法律行为得到必须服从的人们的支持（最终是合规）很重要。这项研究调查了两个社区的支持：直接受AC警察影响的学生和未受到AC警察影响的社区成员。参与者表示支持肯定同意政策，关于肯定同意政策有效性的信念，以及关于他们自己或大学生是否能够遵守该政策的信念。尽管对大学生能够遵循这些政策的共识较低，但对肯定同意政策的看法却很高（正面）。此外，情绪上存在差异，与男性和社区成员相比，女性和学生的积极情绪更高。提供了对决策者的启示和有关AC政策的教育。与男性和社区成员相比，女性和学生的积极情绪更高。提供了对决策者的启示和有关AC政策的教育。与男性和社区成员相比，女性和学生的积极情绪更高。提供了对决策者的启示和有关AC政策的教育。