Many factors can deter students from seeking consent. In theory it’s easy to ask, but in reality many people shy away from it, in shyness, or for fear of ruining the mood.
In a recent consent survey of University of Bristol’s students, entitled No Means No, respondents indicated that they more frequently used non-verbal signals or body language to communicate sexual consent to their partner, and 34% of participants reporting that they always verbally ask for consent.
Despite all of this, a worrying 1 in 20 respondents believed that consent can be implied through clothes and flirting, suggesting that the boundaries of consent can be incredibly hard to pin down, and vary from person to person. The report by No Means No comments, “This is a myth that may require support to dispel to promote a robust consent culture on campus”. Perhaps this is so worrying because of the prevalence of victim blaming in recent years, often as a result of the victim’s choice of clothes. The most extreme, but likely best-known, example of this is the Peruvian judge who threw out a rape case back in 2020, on the basis that the woman in question could not have been raped, due to her choice in red underwear ‘signalling her intention to have sex’.
Of course, this example may seem absurd and a far cry away from the results of the study, but a small, but concerning, number of Bristol Uni students (8%) responded that they have sometimes not asked for sexual consent or given their consent because they felt that it could backfire, and they might end up not having sex.
Both of these statistics reflect miseducation regarding consent, or perhaps just a lack of education.
Assault and Harassment on campus
As part of the report, sexual harassment and assault were also researched. Whilst many cases happen off the university campus, this study shows that the problem also runs pretty deep within our university as well. 38% of those who had reported sexual assault said it had happened in their halls of residence.
As well as halls, and maybe unsurprisingly due to the amount of drinking associated with our sports clubs, the study shows misconduct to be especially prevalent in sports clubs and other societies, with 8% experiencing sexual assault, and 9% experiencing sexual harassment. A further 7% experienced harassment or assault, but couldn’t remember if it was during an official event or not.
All of this comes with headlines about spiking on nights out, this obviously being an extreme and terrifying example of what not consenting can mean. Drinking culture is so embedded in university life, and does make consent so much more difficult to judge. The more drunk people are, the more important verbal consent becomes, however this is often the time where, in a drunken haze, both parties can forget to ask for it, and you end up in a very difficult landscape.
None of this is to say we all have to stay inside and never have any fun, but something has to be done about these issues, and the University has to be a part of that.
How the university can make change happen
Student suggested improvements included increasing education on how to say “no”, which was a theme mentioned in 73% of the responses given. In particular, respondents suggested mandatory consent classes or workshops for first year students during Welcome Week, with potential follow up/refresher courses for other years.
Self-control, as the result of education, is arguably far more effective than top-down punishment after the fact, especially as sexual misconduct is often so hard to prosecute. We are learning more and more as a society, that instructing people where they can and cannot walk at night, what they shouldn’t wear and how they shouldn’t act, is not preventing sexual harassment, assault or rape. The only real way to prevent this is adequate education, which should be common policy from here on out.
Bristol University needs to increase education on how to say “no”
73% of No Means No Survey Respondents
This piece is part of a themed content week at UOB centred around Women’s Health