Gender norms and sexual consent in dating relationships: a qualitative study of university students in Vietnam

Social norms surrounding sex and relationships remain gendered among young people in Vietnam, with men maintaining a privileged role in heterosexual relationships. This analysis explored how university students in Vietnam perceived prevailing gender norms, and how these norms influenced men's understanding of sexual consent in dating relationships. This analysis drew primarily on in-depth interviews with heterosexual men and secondarily from interviews with women attending two universities in Hanoi in 2018. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed a broader narrative about how prevailing gender norms shape men's dating behaviour and beliefs about consent. Participants expected young men to be independent and decisive. Men were seen as free to initiate dating and sexual encounters. Some participants expected young women to be accommodating in dating relationships, although acceptable relationships for women were restricted, and premarital sex was a reputational risk. Most participants described cues for consent and non-consent for sex; however, dismissal of women's refusals, and normalised sexual coercion were common. Among university men in Hanoi, gender norms privileging men and growing expectations of premarital sex may be normalising sexual coercion in dating relationships. University educational programmes are needed to promote equitable gender norms, affirmative sexual consent and expanded definitions of sexual coercion.