Who was Alfred Kinsey?

Alfred Kinsey (1894-1856) was a biologist and sexologist whose research became a worldwide source of information about human sexuality and new standards for sex research. He reoriented the field and moved it away from the medical model to one encompassing a variety of disciplines. His research was foundational to the field of sexology and has influenced social and cultural values all over the world.

Summary of: Cacciatore, R., Korteniemi-Poikela, E., & Kaltiala-Heino, R. (2019). The steps  of sexuality: A developmental, emotion-focused, child-centered model of sexual development and sexuality education from birth to adulthood. 

Summary of: Caruso, S., Agnello, C., Malandrino, C., Lo Presti, L., Cicero, C., & Cianci, S.  (2014). Do hormones influence women’s sex? Sexual activity over the  menstrual cycle. 

Summary of: Vanwesenbeeck, I. (2009). Doing gender in sex and sex research.

Summary of: Van De Bongardt, D., Yu, R., Deković, M., & Meeus, W. (2015). Romantic relationships and sexuality in adolescence and young adulthood: The role of parents, peers, and partners.

Media coverage regarding sexual assault among college students puts pressure on universities to improve their sexual consent policies. The headlines express the controversy that surrounds sexual assault in college. American and Canadian universities are pressured to investigate and address the complaints of students. Both the accused and complaining student usually acknowledge the occurrence of sexual contact, but disagree about it being consensual. While most awareness and educational campaigns emphasize how important getting sexual consent is, they do not clarify what is considered consent.

What is the definition of sexual assault?

The terms rape, sexual assault and battery have no globally accepted definitions. Legal definitions and that of researchers vary. In general, they refer to sexual acts that are obtained by (the threat of) force or without consent. Rape: sexual penetration that is obtained by (the threat of) force or the victim being incapacitated. Sexual battery is usually defined as unwanted sexual touching. Sexual assault includes unwanted sexual touching and sexual penetration. In this article, sexual assault refers to sexual touching or penetration without consent.