The California State Senate unanimously passed SB967 making it the first state to define when “yes means yes,” while investigating sexual assaults on college campus. This definition is significant because the defense that “no means no” and thus the absence of “no” means “yes,” can be used to haphazardly defend the actions of rapists.
A woman cannot say “no” if she has been drugged, if she is paralyzed with fear, injured, unconscious or any of the many reasons a woman might be unable to speak out against her rapists while she is being raped. The bill requires consent to be, “an affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity.”
This clearer definition asserts that a woman must articulate her consent rather than simply attempt to ward off a man’s advances. While it’s quite sad that we need to write into our laws that sex should be consensual and that a man shouldn’t assume a woman wants to have sex with him unless she directly says, “no,” with the rise in reported sexual assaults on campus, it’s a good thing it is being addressed.
The bill will apply to all California universities and colleges. Hopefully more states will begin to adopt similar policies. This is a step in the right direction.
California Passes "Yes Means Yes" College Sexual Assault Legislation
