Affirmative Consent In Schools

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Theoretical Background When affirmative consent policies was first adopted by Antioch College in the early 1990s, the concept was widely ridiculed and criticized, to the extent that “Saturday Night Light” performed a skit satirizing the concept. The notion that with each and every escalating step in a sexual encounter, the participants must explicitly affirm their consent and willingness to have sex and to continue to have sex was deemed excessive and unnecessary (Kaminer 2015). In present time, affirmative consent is becoming a widely adopted policy by colleges in the United States. It is estimated that approximately 1,400 universities have incorporated a form of affirmative consent definition in their sexual misconduct policies (The National …show more content…
There is a lack of verbal communication in consenting sex (Beres, 2007). College students are more incline to indicate their consent via nonverbal cues, with little disparities between men and women in their use of verbal or nonverbal cues (Hall, 1999). Hall identified that nonverbal cues consisted of; not saying no, not refusing partner 's advances, and making eye contact (Hall, 1999). A similar study argues that college students are more likely to provide consent via verbal cues than non-verbal cues. While more men were more likely than women to indicate their consent via nonverbal cues, women were more likely than men to indicate consent verbally (Jozkowski, 2011). The verbal cues consisted of; saying yes when asked to have sex, asking partner to have sex, and asking a partnet to put on a condom. However, the study also argues that college students interpret their partner’s consent from their nonverbal actions such as; eye contact, body motions, and engagement in kissing/making out (Jozkowski, 2011). In a 2010 Canadian college student study, the data collected from participants demonstrated that a majority of communication between partners were nonverbal (Beres, 2010). The study argues that when engaging in sex, participating parties showed a shared understanding …show more content…
What are your thoughts on the law?
2. What does affirmative consent mean to you and what specific words, terms, or phrases do you associate with “affirmative consent”?
3. Do you consider non-verbal communication as indication of affirmative consent? If so, what type of non-verbal cues?
4. The law states that the consent must be “ongoing throughout a sexual activity,” how do you define ongoing?
5. How might this law affect sexual relationships on campus? Do you think it will reduce incidences of sexual misconduct or change the so called “hookup culture?” at UCLA? Students’ testimonies were then analyzed for the presence of particular words or phrases utilized to answer the study questions. The interviews were then re-analyzed to assess emerging themes. The analysis procedures provided insights into participants’ interpretation of the law which in turn conceptualize the definitions of affirmative of these UCLA college

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