Violence during sex explored in new show

And a third of those men said they would not ask verbally whether their partner would like them to carry out such an act either before or during sexual activity.

The questionnaire among 2,049 men aged 18-39 across the UK was carried out between 7-10th Feb 2020 as part of an investigation by BBC Scotland’s Disclosure and Radio 5 Live into the apparent increase of so-called ‘rough sex’.

Disclosure: A Question of Consent airs on BBC One Scotland at 10.45 pm tonight and during today Radio Five Live will feature parts of the investigation in its output.

The survey from Savanta ComRes for BBC Disclosure and Radio 5 Live also suggests many people are actively consenting to these acts during sex. When the men in the survey were asked what motivated them to perform these acts, 41 per cent said their partner initiated it or asked them to do so. Only 33 per cent said they did it because they themselves enjoy it.

Brenna Jessie of Rape Crisis Scotland said those results which suggested that 71 per cent of men had used violence during consensual sex and that a third of them would not ask verbally before doing so were ‘terrifying’.

She tells Disclosure: “I think that’s terrifying to be honest. It’s not a surprise in the sense that we know across Scotland and across UK our public understanding of consent is really not very good. And by that I mean consent as free agreement, as something that is ongoing, so if you consent to one thing it doesn’t necessarily mean you consented to everything. And as something that can be withdrawn at any time.

“So our concern is that in not responding vocally or visibly, that that is being misinterpreted as consent. And that is not consent.”

Reporter Myles Bonnar examines the possible links between violent sex in online pornography and the rise of so-called ‘rough sex’. Fifty-seven per cent of men in the survey who said they’ve slapped, choked, gagged and spat on partners during consensual sex said that porn influenced their desire to do so and 20 per cent said it influenced them a “great deal”.

Sociologist Dr Fiona Vera-Gray, who has studied the porn industry, told Disclosure that international research shows that children as young as 10 start to watch pornography online.

She said: “There’s a lot said about the digital revolution but it really has changed the landscape of what’s going on for kids and so if you think your twelve year old hasn’t seen pornography, I’d really question that.”

Many of the women spoken to during the production of the programme said they believed porn was behind their experience of unwanted violence during consensual sex. One woman said she pleaded with a man to stop biting her violently as she cried in pain. He refused to stop but she still felt guilty afterwards.

Ms Jessie said: “I think there will be a lot of women who have consented to sex but who have not consented violence who won’t necessarily recognise their experience or understand their experience to be sexual violence.

“Those feelings of guilt are really common because we live in society that really shames victims and blames them for not doing more to keep themselves safe. Rather than asking the perpetrators – or the people, who have committed these acts – why they have done that.”

Disclosure: A Question of Consent airs on BBC One Scotland at 10.45 pm tonight