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Perspectives on Sexual Consent Among Ecuadorian Adolescents

Abstract:

Sexual Consent (SC) is an important construct that enables the possibility of experiencing healthy sexuality including sexual violence prevention. This is an essential construct in some key periods where sexual encounters start, e.g., adolescence. Despite its importance, SC has been barely studied in the Ecuadorian context, a country where the rates of sexual violence among adolescents are particularly relevant. This quantitative study aimed to identify adolescent´s sources of knowledge about SC and to evaluate perspectives on how they communicate and interpret SC and rejection in sexual encounters. N = 604 adolescents with an average age of 17 from which N = 251 reported being sexually active participated in this study. The results highlight the need for more knowledge about SC, and also show that verbal language is the main communication tool for both sexual consent and interpreting consent from a partner. There are significant differences between girls and boys in the communication and interpretation of rejection, rather than in SC itself. The findings of this study provide a solid and updated foundation for understanding how SC operates in adolescents and, based on this, generating relevant educational proposals.