Consent and sexual assault in heterosexual versus same-sex sexual encounters

Consent is a vital component of all sexual encounters, and its absence can lead to harmful sexual behaviours. Although the concepts of consent and sexual assault should be applied appropriately to all individuals, this may not be the case. This thesis examined whether public perceptions of consent and sexual assault differ based on participant gender and rape myth acceptance, as well as the sexual orientation of individuals portrayed in various sexual encounter vignettes. It also examined whether specific behaviours are perceived as universally consenting or non-consenting by participants. Results of this study suggest that the public can accurately identify consent and sexual assault, with little evidence for differences across heterosexual versus homosexual vignettes. However, male participants with high rape myth acceptance demonstrated diminished accuracy in identifying consent and sexual assault in certain scenarios. Several behaviours were found to be reasonably universally consenting and non-consenting by participants. Implications will be discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MSc)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Forensic Psychology

Grantor

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Kirkpatrick, Sarah M. M.

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Emeno, Karla
• Vettor, Shannon

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10155/1829

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ontariotechu.scholaris.ca:10155/1829