Research finds ‘gulf between men and women’ on sexual consent

Research finds 'gulf between men and women' on sexual consent

Rachel Morrogh

New research on public attitudes to sexual consent in Ireland have revealed a “gulf between men and women’s understanding and expectations”, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has said.

Nearly half (46 per cent) of men surveyed by Opinions Research agreed that people “often make up accusations about non-consensual sex” compared to just over a quarter (27 per cent) of women.

One in four men agreed that they were “not sure that sex without consent is as widespread a problem as it is made out to be”, compared to one in seven women.

The research also found that 55 per cent of dating adults are “fearful that a partner might say that the sexual encounter that occurred when they were drinking was not consensual, despite going along with it at the time” and 39 per cent say they “often feel vulnerable” due to fear of misreading an intimate situation.

The polling was undertaken via an online omnibus survey with a nationally representative sample of 923 adults in Ireland, and was complimented by qualitative focus group work, the results of which will be published next month.

Rachel Morrogh, chief executive of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, said: “The new national research reveals some positive indications that people are aware of the need for consent when they are engaging in sexual activity.

“However, their understanding of what consent is and how to put it into practice is causing some fear and uncertainty, particularly amongst those whose relationship status is ‘dating’.

“The findings also illustrate that there is a gulf between men and women’s understanding and expectations around sexual consent. This is a gap that we must close if we want to reduce the prevalence of sexual violence in this country.”

She added: “Particularly worrying to us is the significant number of people who believe the myth that people ‘often’ make up false accusations about rape.

“Rape myths discourage victims from coming forward and enable perpetrators to live free from consequences. It is demoralising and dispiriting for anyone who has experienced sexual violence to see that almost half of men and close to three in 10 women think that accusations of rape are often made up.  

“In fact, it confirms the experience of many survivors of sexual violence — they are not believed, their experience is trivialised, and they are told they are in some way to blame.”

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