You can talk to teens all you want about sex. But if you want to drive home healthy messages about consent, maybe you should have them watch: “In the Criminal Justice system sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous…”

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Really. Compared with other TV shows, anyway. Because a study finds that college students who watched episodes of the various Law & Orders had a better understanding of sexual consent issues than those who watched two other crime procedural franchises, NCIS and CSI. The research is in the Journal of Health Communication. [Stacey J. T. Hust et al, Law & Order, CSI and NCIS: The Association Between Exposure to Crime Drama Franchises, Rape Myth Acceptance, and Sexual Consent Negotiation Among College Students]

For the study, researchers asked more than 300 college freshmen if they agreed or disagreed that if a woman is raped she is at least somewhat responsible, a concept called rape myth acceptance. The students were also asked about their intentions to seek consent for sexual activity and their intentions to refuse sexual activity.

The results: the college students who watched ripped-from-the-headline Law & Order versus the other shows had stronger views about consent and were less likely to accept rape mythology. Watching CSI, where the victim is often dead and treated as another piece of evidence, was associated with lowered intentions to seek consent and a greater acceptance of rape myths. Exposure to the NCIS franchise was associated with decreased intentions to refuse unwanted sexual activity.

Previous research found that the Law & Order shows directly challenge myths and stereotypes related to sexual assaults. While CSI has been criticized for plotlines that reinforce rape myths.

So it turns out watching those shows—at least for college-aged kids—may have some effect on sexual consent intentions and behavior. And when it comes to Law & Order, that effect could be positive.

—Erika Beras

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]