Young Men Struggle with Consent Frameworks in Sexual Encounters

New study explores how young heterosexual men navigate consent during real-world sexual interactions.

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

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A new study suggests that while young men overwhelmingly support affirmative sexual consent in principle, they often find its verbal implementation difficult in practice. Researchers found that young men tend to rely on an accumulation of contextual cues, rather than explicit verbal consent, to infer whether consent is present. The study underscores a disconnect between consent education and the realities of how young men actually navigate sexual encounters.

Why it matters

Understanding how young men interpret and enact consent is crucial for reducing sexual harm, as sex without consent is considered sexual violence. The study highlights the need to bridge the gap between the language of consent taught in schools and the more fluid, ambiguous ways young men actually navigate sexual situations.

The details

The study, led by researchers at Columbia University and the University of Melbourne, involved in-depth interviews with 35 men aged 18 to 32 who had prior sexual experience. Participants described a process the researchers termed "multi-factor authentication," where they pieced together an accumulation of cues - such as sensory signals, trust, location, and timing - to infer whether consent was present. Formal verbal consent was sometimes used, but many viewed it as overly procedural and not necessarily reflective of genuine desire. Importantly, the men did not interpret alcohol use or revealing clothing as signals of consent, and instead saw intoxication as problematizing consent.

  • The study was conducted in 2025.

The players

Jessie Ford

A sociologist at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health whose research explores how expectations and inequalities around gender and sexuality shape sexual health, violence, and pleasure.

Jossy Forest

A PhD Candidate at the University of Melbourne with a background in human development, conflict resolution, mindfulness, and compassion-based practices.

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What they’re saying

“Because sexual activity without consent is sexual violence, understanding how young men interpret and enact consent remains crucial for reducing sexual harm.”

— Jessie Ford, Assistant Professor of Sociomedical Sciences (Mailman School of Public Health)

“The boundaries between unwanted but consensual sex and non-consensual sex are often unclear, creating what has been described as a 'grey area' between consent and non-consent. Our study underscores a critical disconnect between the language of consent taught in schools and the ways young men actually navigate sexual encounters.”

— Jossy Forest (University of Melbourne)

What’s next

The researchers say future studies should seek to capture multiple perspectives, diverse contexts, and longitudinal patterns to better understand how consent is negotiated across different types of sexual encounters.

The takeaway

This study highlights the need for more nuanced, context-specific approaches to consent education that better reflect the realities of how young men navigate sexual situations, in order to reduce instances of sexual harm and violence.