Sexual consent in India: we’ve learned the vocabulary, but what about the behaviour?
While awareness of sexual consent vocabulary has increased in India, a study and anecdotal evidence suggest that behavioral changes are lagging behind. Many men express egalitarian views in surveys, yet struggle to apply these principles in real-world dating scenarios.
Why it matters
It highlights the persistent gap between social progress in discourse and the actual lived experiences of women regarding bodily autonomy.
We have become rather good at talking about consent. There are campaigns about it, dating-app prompts about it, and enough Instagram explainers to suggest that the vocabulary is no longer the problem. The more interesting question in India in 2026 is whether the behaviour has caught up.
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