The number of times I’ve read a column about sexual assault that starts with the line “I was sexually assaulted last (insert date)” exceeds the number of fingers I have on both hands.
And I’m going to add to that number by inserting my own personal experience into the mix. I was sexually assaulted last year.
When it happened, I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t say anything.
I always thought that if I found myself in that situation, I would not only be able to speak up, but also I’d be able to defend myself. Reality didn’t quite play out like that. When it happened to me, I couldn’t speak, let alone defend myself.
Did I say no? No. Does that mean I said yes? No.
But until Sunday, staying silent could have implied consent under California law.
This all changed on Sunday, when Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 967, dubbed the “yes means yes” bill. The law establishes a new standard and definition of consent, making California the first state to pass an affirmative consent law for its universities. With the passage of that law, the University of California and its students have a greater responsibility than ever to change the culture of consent on college campuses.
“Yes means yes” explicitly defines consent as “affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity.” The legislation reads that a “lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time.” This landmark change means that students and administrators must work together to impart the new definition of consent to all community members.
Spreading awareness about consent culture means broaching the topic of sexual assault with those in your community and educating individuals about what consent is. This may seem like a basic, simple step, but unless a dialogue is started, it’s impossible to know if everyone is on the same page about consent.
The UC has established itself as a proactive leader in adopting the components of the new legislation by switching over to the affirmative definition of consent in March, before Brown had even signed the bill into law. This change came as a result of the university updating its policy in accordance with a reauthorization with the White House’s Violence Against Women Act.
Because the UC definition of consent is already affirmative, our educational programs for incoming students currently reflect major parts of the “yes means yes” law and can serve as models for other California universities that will need to revise their own programs.
And while administrators are largely responsible for enacting this change, they only command the attention of students for orientation sessions in which sexual assault policy is discussed briefly. That means the real burden of changing consent culture is on students: Students make the community and the culture. Students shape the conversations, values and beliefs of those around them. By making an effort to include consent culture in everyday life and by starting the dialogue on sexual assault, students are making active steps to ensure that their community shares one definition of consent.
In adopting affirmative consent in March, the UC became a leader by setting an early standard and clear set of policy goals around sexual assault easily recreated at other institutions of higher learning. This can help other universities in California adjust to the new legislation and potentially even motivate schools outside of California to change their definition of consent regardless of whether or not that change is mandated through law.
Roxanne Neal, director of UCLA New Student and Transition Programs, said that orientation programming directors, deans and sexual violence educators from other universities across the country have come to UCLA and attended our transition programs to see how they could model their own educational programs better.
A workshop at orientation isn’t the be-all and end-all solution for ending sexual assault, but it’s a starting place. Students need to continue the dialogue around consent and sexual assault started by the university and bring it back to their own communities. The conversation can’t end with administrators; it needs to be a burden shared by students and the university.
It’s unacceptable that a student at Columbia University is carrying around a mattress in protest of the administration failing to punish her rapist.
It’s unacceptable that it’s 2014 and we are only just now adopting an affirmative definition of consent.
It’s unacceptable that one in five women are victims of sexual assault in college and that I am now one of these numbers, something I won’t ever be able to change.
But it’s equally unacceptable to know all this and not make conscious choices to change the culture. We can’t forget that there are faces and people behind the statistics. Administrations can only do so much. The community makes the culture, and that means the responsibility is in the hands of students as much as it is with the UC.