Less than half of Ontarians understand the legal definition of sexual consent

Close-up of a woman's palm, makes the hand stop the denial gesture, expresses prohibition, rejection, fights for equal rights against domestic violence, abuse, discrimination, harassment

by Wafa Yunis

A recent survey conducted by Maru Public Opinion and commissioned by the Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF) revealed that over 55% of Canadians do not know the legal definition of sexual consent. According to Canada’s criminal code, sexual consent is a consensual and voluntary ongoing agreement to engage in sexual activity, which can be withdrawn anytime.

The survey that took place on the 18th and 19th of October consisted of a random selection of 1511 adults across provinces, out of which only 45% were reported to display an understanding of consensual activity that aligned with the legal definition. Most of these respondents were reported as equal numbers of men and women below the age of 54.  The results were reported to vary across provinces with Ontario making it to the third place with 47%  displaying a good understanding of the legal definition.

Paulette Senior, CEO of The Canadian Women’s Foundation

“While more people seem to be aware of what consent is, it’s alarming that so many still don’t understand. It’s a sign that Canada desperately needs to invest in consent education and effective abuse prevention measures relevant to all age groups.”  Paulette Senior, president and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation, said in a news release on Tuesday.

Since the report didn’t explicitly mention what the youth’s understanding of sexual consent is, we reached out to students at Seneca College, Toronto to understand better the perspective of what sexual consent means to adults aged below 25 years.

“Both parties must consent to any form of sexual intercourse.” says Alana Shivprasad, a student from Seneca College. She says that any form of lying or misguidance prior and during sexual activity can be considered a violation.

Angela Marquez, Seneca Student Federation representative. courtesy Linked in.

On the other hand Meet Parmar, another student from Seneca College says “I think you should be polite and not forceful to anyone. I don’t know what the exact definition is.”

4.7 million women – or 30 per cent of all women aged 15 and older – have experienced sexual assault that did not involve an intimate partner was reported in data published in 2019 by Statistics Canada.

The SSF, Seneca Student Federation,  has policies against sexual violation for students at Seneca.  Angela Marquez  said  “The SSF practices a safe environment for students across campuses and tries to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for everyone. Any form of sexual harassment will not be tolerated.”

She mentioned that students can report any form of sexual violation by visiting the SSF offices on campus or emailing the HR at Sarvesh.Singh@senecacollege.ca

 

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