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Effect of Sexual Consent Education on Sexual Consent Knowledge among Female Undergraduates in Nigeria

Abstract

Sexual consent is an important component of sexual and reproductive health, interpersonal relationships, personal autonomy, and protection from sexual violence. Understanding consent enables individuals to recognize that sexual activity should be based on voluntary, informed, and freely given agreement and that consent can be withdrawn at any time. Female undergraduates may encounter situations involving peer influence, relationship pressures, alcohol or substance use, communication difficulties, and misconceptions about sexual behaviour that may affect their understanding and interpretation of consent. In Nigeria, inadequate sexual health education, cultural beliefs, stigma surrounding discussions of sexuality, misinformation, and limited access to comprehensive sexuality education may contribute to gaps in sexual consent knowledge among young women. Sexual consent education provides an opportunity to improve students' understanding of consent, communication, personal boundaries, coercion, and the circumstances in which consent is absent or cannot be validly given. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of sexual consent education on sexual consent knowledge among female undergraduates in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Theory of Planned Behavior. The Health Belief Model explains how students' perceptions of susceptibility to sexual violence, perceived severity of its consequences, perceived benefits of understanding consent, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence acquisition of sexual consent knowledge. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes knowledge acquisition, observational learning, self-efficacy, social interaction, and environmental influences in the development of healthy interpersonal behaviours. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how knowledge, attitudes, perceived social expectations, and perceived behavioural control may influence students' understanding and application of consent principles. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how sexual consent education may influence sexual consent knowledge among female undergraduates in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise female undergraduate students enrolled in selected universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, universities, faculties, departments, and eligible female students. Sexual consent education will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to structured consent education, frequency and duration of educational sessions, information on voluntary consent, communication and negotiation, personal boundaries, withdrawal of consent, sexual coercion, pressure and manipulation, capacity to consent, intoxication, and appropriate responses to non-consensual situations. Sexual consent knowledge will be assessed using participants' ability to correctly identify the meaning and principles of consent, circumstances in which consent is valid or absent, the right to withdraw consent, the role of clear communication, the distinction between consent and coercion, and situations in which an individual may be unable to provide valid consent. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires and an appropriate sexual consent knowledge assessment instrument. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, exposure to consent education, and levels of sexual consent knowledge. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of sexual consent education on sexual consent knowledge. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, knowledge scores before and after structured education will be compared to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that sexual consent education has a significant positive effect on sexual consent knowledge among female undergraduates in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured and evidence-based sexual consent education are expected to demonstrate greater understanding of voluntary consent, personal boundaries, communication, withdrawal of consent, coercion, and situations in which consent cannot be validly given than students with limited exposure to consent education. Improved knowledge may help students identify inappropriate sexual pressure and coercive situations, communicate boundaries more effectively, and better understand their rights and responsibilities within intimate relationships. The education may also challenge misconceptions about consent and promote respectful interpersonal relationships. However, cultural beliefs, stigma surrounding sexuality, peer influence, misinformation from social media, limited access to comprehensive sexuality education, and discomfort discussing sexual matters may reduce the effectiveness of educational interventions. The study therefore expects accessible, culturally sensitive, age-appropriate, evidence-based, and regularly reinforced sexual consent education to contribute significantly to improved sexual consent knowledge among female undergraduates in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on sexual consent education, sexual consent knowledge, sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence prevention, comprehensive sexuality education, interpersonal relationships, university health services, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, universities, university health centres, student affairs departments, healthcare providers, counsellors, sexual and reproductive health educators, women's health organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving sexual consent knowledge among female undergraduates. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating sexual consent education into university health and sexuality education programmes, training healthcare professionals and peer educators, developing culturally appropriate educational materials, strengthening sexual and reproductive health education, improving access to confidential counselling services, and promoting informed, respectful, and non-coercive interpersonal relationships among university students across Nigeria.

Keywords: Sexual consent education, sexual consent knowledge, female undergraduates, sexual and reproductive health, comprehensive sexuality education, sexual violence prevention, interpersonal relationships, university students, gender-based violence, Nigeria, public health.