“No means no” is how people define consent when two people are engaging in sexual activity. If one partner says, “no” any other sexual advances would be considered sexual assault. But what would be considered as consent when it is not always so clear? What if one partner doesn’t say, “No” but gives no validation in wanting to participant in sex. As a way to define what would be considered to be consent, California legislators proposed in Senate Bill No.967 regarding the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. The bill establishes affirmative consent, which states that both partners have to consent either verbally or nonverbally before having sex. Also, the bill requires all colleges to follow the affirmative consent standard in their assault
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An article in Time magazine reported on how the bill is beneficial when dealing with sexual assault on campus. There are many issues on how colleges handle issues of rape. For example, the number of people who were found guilty of sexual assault was minimal and the ones who were convicted receive minimal punishment. In one case mentioned, the assailant was caught on videotape, yet the punishment was expulsion after graduation. Also, in a study conducted found the 73 percent of schools had no protocols set with local police, and schools that did fail to utilize them in rape allegations. Affirmative consent is supposed to change the former slogan “No mean No” to “Yes means Yes.” Non-supporters are quick to critique the law on how it tells people to engage in sex and undermined the fact that we have got to a point where we needed government regulation to address how we should gain proper consent (Cummings). There is a large issue going on in society where our culture views “sex is not so much an act as a thing: a substance that can be given, bought, sold, or stolen.” No means No it is sought after like a game, where one has to take in order to receive (Millar). The important thing to focus is that the bill establishes a new standard of consent which is the only way to stop something from happening that one partner is uncomfortable with
An article in Time magazine reported on how the bill is beneficial when dealing with sexual assault on campus. There are many issues on how colleges handle issues of rape. For example, the number of people who were found guilty of sexual assault was minimal and the ones who were convicted receive minimal punishment. In one case mentioned, the assailant was caught on videotape, yet the punishment was expulsion after graduation. Also, in a study conducted found the 73 percent of schools had no protocols set with local police, and schools that did fail to utilize them in rape allegations. Affirmative consent is supposed to change the former slogan “No mean No” to “Yes means Yes.” Non-supporters are quick to critique the law on how it tells people to engage in sex and undermined the fact that we have got to a point where we needed government regulation to address how we should gain proper consent (Cummings). There is a large issue going on in society where our culture views “sex is not so much an act as a thing: a substance that can be given, bought, sold, or stolen.” No means No it is sought after like a game, where one has to take in order to receive (Millar). The important thing to focus is that the bill establishes a new standard of consent which is the only way to stop something from happening that one partner is uncomfortable with