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Posts tagged as “sexual assault bill”

From “No Means No” to “Yes Means Yes”

SB 967
Demonstrators rally in support of California Senate Bill 967. Source: urtahpeoplespost.com

 

If you’re a college student, you’ve most likely heard that “no means no”. Universities around the United States have taken multiple approaches to the sexual assault epidemic affecting our campuses, offering mandatory orientations, campus advocates and social media campaigns, all under the premise that if you’re uncomfortable with something, speak up. But many fail to recognize that the problem with this logic is that it blames sexual assault on the victim for not clearly saying no. For all intents and purposes, ambivalence and silence under “no means no” are the same as tacit consent. In light of 55 universities being federally investigated for their handling of sexual assault cases, California lawmakers unanimously passed SB-967, or “Yes Means Yes”, providing a new definition of consent that challenges the outdated and victim-blaming status quo.