Confirming consent makes sex better, Dutch young people say in new study

Asking for consent, and confirming that consent again later, does not kill the mood but makes the sexual experience better, Rutgers and Ipsos I&O found in a study among 18 to 25-year-olds. They gave sexual encounters in which consent was checked multiple times a higher score (8.3 out of 10) than encounters where consent was asked once (7.8) or not at all (7.4), Metro reports.

Repeated check-ins also increased the sense of safety. When their sexual partner repeatedly checked whether they were still okay with the encounter, 91 percent of young people said they felt safe. 82 percent felt safe when their partner asked for consent once, and 79 percent when their partner did not ask at all.

Young adults also more often indicate that they enjoy sex when permission is asked several times. 88 percent said this was the case, compared to 78 percent for one check and 75 percent with no explicit consent.

“Some people fear that checking consent is a mood kill, but the opposite appears to be true,” said Willy van Berlo, a sexual violence expert at Rutgers. “By checking in with each other several times, both verbally and non-verbally, you can always confirm your previous consent, and the sexual encounter becomes more pleasant.”

Rutgers, the Netherlands’ expertise center on sexuality, and Ipsos I&O conducted this study in the run-up to the new Sexual Offenses Act, which takes effect on July 1. It classifies sex without explicit consent as rape, even if no coercion was involved. It also places less of a burden on the victim to prove that they were assaulted.