India Today survey puts consent culture under the spotlight

MUMBAI: Consent may be a simple word, but its meaning often takes the longest route home. That tension sits at the heart of India Today’s latest Consent Culture Survey issue, which explores how Indian women understand, negotiate and experience consent in everyday life.

Developed in partnership with Durex The Birds and Bees Talk, the special issue presents findings from the India Today-Durex The Birds and Bees Talk Consent Culture Report: Awareness, Equity, Inclusion and Protection. The women-only national survey, conducted by research agency CVoter, examines consent not merely as a legal or interpersonal concept but as a broader social reality shaped by family, workplaces, public spaces and the digital world.

Moving beyond conventional conversations around sexual consent, the report studies issues including personal autonomy, dignity, safety, workplace dynamics, family influence, online privacy, intimate relationships and public behaviour. The findings point to a recurring theme: while awareness of consent has grown, many women continue to encounter emotional, social and institutional barriers when exercising the right to say “no”.

The survey also builds on the India Today Group’s earlier Gross Domestic Behaviour (GDB) initiative, which tracked public attitudes across civic behaviour, public safety, gender attitudes, and diversity and discrimination.

Among the report’s key observations is the gap between recognising consent in principle and practising it in everyday situations. It examines how refusal can carry social or reputational consequences, how workplace hierarchies influence decision-making, how family structures shape personal choices, and how digital platforms have created fresh challenges around privacy, unwanted communication and the sharing of personal images and information.

The publication also highlights growing support for introducing age-appropriate consent education at an early stage, covering personal boundaries, respect, safety and the right to refuse. The findings align with the broader objectives of Durex The Birds and Bees Talk, which focuses on promoting informed conversations around consent, healthy relationships, protection, inclusion and life skills among adolescents.

Commenting on the initiative, Aroon Purie, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India Today Group, said consent remains one of the most fundamental expressions of individual dignity, yet continues to be inconsistently understood in everyday life. He said the report seeks to provide empirical insight into how women across the country experience consent while encouraging a more informed national conversation.

Reckitt executive vice president for South Asia Gaurav Jain said discussions around consent in India have often been shaped by silence, misinformation and entrenched social attitudes. He noted that placing women’s lived experiences at the centre of the report aims to encourage greater awareness, challenge misconceptions and promote more informed conversations.

Alongside survey findings, the special issue includes editorial analysis and expert perspectives on questions ranging from whether silence is mistaken for agreement and how pressure influences consent, to women’s experiences within marriage, workplaces and public spaces. It also explores the evolving challenges posed by online harassment, digital privacy and the growing complexities of consent in an increasingly connected society.

By combining nationwide primary research with editorial analysis, the issue offers a data-driven snapshot of one of India’s most pressing social conversations, asking not only whether people understand consent, but whether society truly respects it in practice.