Sexual consent: an examination of differences in a South African sample

Abstract

The process of sexual consent is nuanced and deeply influenced by the culture in which it occurs. This comparative case, qualitative study explores the conceptualization of sexual consent in culturally diverse South Africa, aiming to understand university students’ experiences with sexual consent. The interviews consisted of three parts. First, participants read three vignettes and provided their interpretation of whether sexual consent was given. In the second part, participants described a personal recent sexual encounter and elaborated about the communication, interpretation, and conceptualization of sexual consent during the encounter by responding to a semi-structured interview protocol. The third part of the interview consisted of asking participants for their personal definition of sexual consent and rape. The main themes that emerged from the data included strong traditional gender stereotypes, the importance of obtaining consent before an encounter, and a nuanced, complex understanding of sexual consent in cross-cultural communication. Limitation and future directions are discussed.