The special issue examines how Indian women understand, negotiate and experience consent across homes, relationships, workplaces, public spaces and digital life
India Today has released its special Consent Culture Survey issue in partnership with Durex The Birds and Bees Talk, bringing readers a comprehensive editorial examination of consent as a lived social reality in India. It publishes findings from the India Today-Durex The Birds and Bees Talk Consent Culture Report: Awareness, Equity, Inclusion and Protection.
The national women-only survey, conducted by eminent research organisation CVoter, explores how consent is understood, practised, negotiated and challenged across Indian society. It moves the conversation beyond limited definitions of consent and looks at it through the lens of autonomy, dignity, safety, family power, workplace culture, public behaviour, digital boundaries and intimate relationships. It captures a clear social tension: Indian women increasingly recognise the language of consent, while many continue to face emotional, social and institutional barriers in exercising it. This dovetails with our earlier pioneering initiative Gross Domestic Behaviour (GDB) which measures attitudes across four dimensions: Civic Behaviour, Public Safety, Gender Attitudes, and Diversity & Discrimination.
Among the key themes emerging from the survey is the gap between awareness and lived autonomy. The findings show how consent can be clear in principle yet contested in practice. They examine how refusal can carry emotional and reputational costs, how family structures shape everyday choices, how workplace hierarchy complicates the ability to say no, how public spaces influence women’s movement and behaviour, and how digital platforms have created new consent challenges around images, messages, privacy and personal information.
The special issue also places strong emphasis on consent education. The survey points to strong support for early, formal and age-appropriate learning on boundaries, respect, safety and the right to refuse. This aligns with the larger purpose of Durex The Birds and Bees Talk, which has worked to enable informed, age-appropriate conversations with adolescents on life skills, healthy behaviours, consent, protection, inclusion and equity.
Speaking on the occasion, Aroon Purie, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, India Today Group, said: “Consent is among the most fundamental expressions of individual dignity. Yet in India, it remains a concept more often invoked in principle than consistently understood in practice. As public discourse around rights, equality and respect has evolved, the everyday experiences of women continue to reveal how unevenly these ideals translate into reality. Our aim with this programme is to bridge this gap.
The India Today-Durex The Birds and Bees Talk Consent Culture Report seeks to bring much-needed empirical clarity to this conversation. By centring the voices and lived realities of women across the country, the study attempts to map how consent is interpreted, negotiated and sometimes disregarded in daily interactions. At the India Today Group, we believe responsible journalism must not only chronicle events but also illuminate the deeper currents shaping society. Our hope is that this report will act as a credible mirror, encouraging a more informed national conversation and helping advance a culture rooted in dignity, respect and autonomy.”
Gaurav Jain, Executive Vice President, South Asia, Reckitt, said: “Conversations around consent in India have long been shaped by silence, misinformation and deeply ingrained social conditioning. Through Durex The Birds and Bees Talk, our endeavour has been to enable informed, age-appropriate conversations on consent, relationships, respect and personal boundaries. The Consent Culture Report: Awareness, Equity, Inclusion and Protection, developed in partnership with the India Today Group, aims to bring credible, data-led insights into how consent is understood and experienced in India today. By placing real women’s voices at the centre, we hope this initiative will encourage more open conversations, challenge persistent misconceptions, and empower a generation that is informed, responsible and resilient.”
The Consent Culture Survey issue carries detailed editorial analysis, survey findings and expert perspectives on the many contexts in which consent is tested. It examines whether “no” is accepted without explanation, whether silence is mistaken for agreement, how pressure affects consent, how women experience consent within marriage and intimate relationships, and how family, work and social conditioning influence the ability to refuse.
The issue also explores consent in public and digital spaces, including growing challenges around unwanted contact, online harassment, sharing of images and personal information, and the changing meaning of privacy in a connected society.
By combining primary research with India Today’s editorial scrutiny, the Consent Culture Survey issue presents a data-led portrait of one of the most important questions in contemporary India: how society understands, respects and protects consent in everyday life.
About Durex The Birds and Bees Talk
Durex The Birds and Bees Talk, a programme by Reckitt, is an innovative initiative focused on building life skills for adolescents. The programme is founded on the pillars of inclusion, awareness, consent, protection and equity. Through age-appropriate information on life skills, health and sexual well-being, the programme promotes healthy and safe behaviours and works towards fostering a generation that is informed, responsible and resilient.
About India Today Group
With a 50-year legacy, India Today Group is India’s most trusted multi-platform news leader, driving impact through fearless journalism, innovation and insightful storytelling. Spanning print, television, radio and digital platforms, the Group reaches over 750 million readers, viewers and users worldwide through its portfolio of market-leading brands. Over five decades, the Group has built a legacy of trust, credibility and editorial excellence, setting the gold standard in journalism. The Group continues to shape India’s national conversation through journalism, ideas and influential platforms.