The "got consent?" was a campaign developed in partnership with University Housing to increase campus awareness about consent, sexual assault, resources, and prevention. The campaign has consisted of:
weekly posters in residence halls;
weekly table tents in the Student Union Building (SUB);
a closed circuit television advertisement;
personalized valentines for students in the residence halls;
consent cups to all residence hall students;
a banner hung outside the SUB;
discussion program in the Halls;
first responder trainings;
campus awareness raising (info at Safer Spring Break events, Sex in the Lobby Events, Bronco updates);
campus wide trainings (Counseling Center, Gateway Center, SUB staff, Housing staff, University 101 classes, Cultural Center staff, Women's Center staff, ASBSU, etc.);
presentations in the residence halls;
pens;
business cards;
frequent surveys in Housing.
Talking points of the campaign are provided below. What is consent?
Consent is not the absence of a "no," it's the presence of a sober, conscious, 18 years or older uncoerced "yes." According to Boise State University's Student Code of Conduct1, consent for sexual activity:
should be verbal, sober, conscious, and explicit.
must be given freely and can be revoked at any time.
cannot be given by someone who is:
asleep;
drugged;
intoxicated;
unconscious;
under 18 years of age;
mentally or psychologically disabled;
harassed, coerced, threatened, or forced into sexual activity.
Why have a consent campaign at Boise State University?
Sexual violence (sexual activity without consent) is the most common violent crime on college campuses.
On a college campus of 10,000 women, an estimated 350 rapes will occur in a given 9-month academic year.2
Surveys have consistently reported that college men acknowledged forced intercourse at a rate of 5-15% and college sexual aggression rate of 15-25%.3, 4
Sexual assault is even more common for college women (1 out of 3), than their non-college attending peers (1 out of 4). 4
In a landmark study, approximately 1 out of 3 college men reported they would rape a woman if they knew they would not get caught.5
In another study, 1 in 12 male students surveyed had committed acts that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape.6
To reduce sexual violence by helping students understand their legal and student rights related to consent.
For example, everyone has the right to stop sexual activity at any time for any reason:
even if they have been intimate before;
even if their partner has spent a lot of money on them;
even if their partner is begging, cajoling, or coercing;
even if they might hurt their partner's feelings.
To reduce sexual violence by helping students understand their responsibility to effectively get consent or refrain from sexual activity.
Sexual activity cannot proceed without consent. If it does, this is a felony (rape).
Consent must be sought prior to any sexual activity.
Consent must be sought throughout sexual activity.
"Is this still okay with you we are_____?"
"You do not seem comfortable with me doing _______, should I stop?"
Consent must be sought before a new sexual activity is begun.
If a person has given consent to kiss or touch a certain area, this does not mean they have given consent for sex, to touch a different area, or to kiss or touch that area in the future.
To improve students' recognition of violated rights and to improve students' ability to report and hold perpetrator's accountable.
Approximately 50% of women who are sexually assaulted do not realize that what has happened to them is rape. 6 This is sometimes explained by the commonly held false belief that rape is when a stranger attacks a woman in dark alley at night. When the crime does not match this cultural myth, women and the people around them sometimes have difficulty understanding what happened to them was a crime and is rape.
Improved ability to report reduces the number of sexual assaults perpetrators commit on campus by demonstrating perpetrators are held accountable and have diminished ability to re-offend.
Boise State University. (2007). Boise State University Student Code of Conduct.
Retrieved February 4, 2008 from http://www.boisestate.edu/osrr.
Carr, J. L. (2005, February). American College Health Association campus violence white paper. Baltimore, MD: American College Health Association.
Malamuth, N. M. Sockloskie, R. J., Koss, M. P., & Tanaka, J. S. (1991). Characteristics of aggressors against women: Testing a model using a national sample of college students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 670-681.
Koss, M. P., Gidycz, C. A., & Wisniewski, N. (1987). The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 64-170.
Fisher, B., & Sloan, III, J. (1995). Campus crime: Legal, social and policy perspectives. Springfield (Illinois): Charles C. Thomas.
Warshaw, R. (1994). I never called it rape. New York: HarperPerennial.
