“They Don’t Have the Right to Be Touching Girls”: Understanding Middle School Students’ Consent Scripts

Abstract

Background/Context:

Research suggests that sexual harassment and assault are distressingly common occurrences in middle school settings. However, prevention efforts have largely focused on secondary and post-secondary settings. While research-based initiatives to discuss consent could be effective, currently there is a dearth of literature on middle school students’ beliefs or attitudes on consent and sexual assault, which could inform such initiatives.

Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study:

Using the concept of “consent scripts,” this study asks: How do seventh- and eighth-grade students define, proscribe, understand, and operationalize consent as a concept?

Research Design:

We surveyed 177 middle school students about their ideas regarding consent and their analysis of scenarios of dubious consent, and conducted follow-up in-depth semi-structured interviews with 66 of the participants.

Conclusions/Recommendations:

We identify four consent scripts prevalent among middle school students 1) consent works differently within relationships; 2) seeking consent is a form of empathy; 3) acts of seeking or violating consent are informed by norms of masculinity; and 4) close friends will respect norms of consent. These findings can inform sexual assault prevention and intervention efforts in the middle school context.

Keywords

consent early adolescence gender and sexuality consent scripts social scripts

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