Yes Means Yes

Berkeley has rightfully earned a reputation of sprouting and nurturing many social justice movements. From fighting for disability rights and South-African divestment, to breaking down gender barriers and advocating for gay rights, UC Berkeley students are now taking on the fight against sexual assault.

One of the many reasons why this issue is so challenging to confront is because of its severity and persistence are often undermined in today’s culture. Common claims made by people who sympathize with those accused of sexual assault include that victims were asking for it, were dressed in a way provoking their assailants, or were too drunk to give proper consent. Statements such as these are not uncommon on college campuses today, where sexual assault is not a rare or isolated incident.

 

According to the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexaul Assault, the national average for women who are sexually assaulted in college is one in five. A team of student researchers involved with the California Young Women’s Collaborative found that at UC Berkeley the number is one in three.

In the wake of such alarming statistics, increasing headlines, and the creation of the Presidential task force to help eliminate sexual assault on college campuses, Governor Jerry Brown signed the SB-967 legislation into law on September 29, 2014. The bill makes California the first state to prioritize affirmative consent and draws much-needed attention to the issue.

Better known as the “Yes Means Yes” bill, this legislation not only defined affirmative consent, but it also explicitly specified a number of things that were previously unclear. First, the law states that both parties must give affirmative consent before engaging in sexual activity. The bill defines consent as an “an affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity.” It is unambiguous, voluntary, revocable, and ongoing throughout the act. Additionally, consent cannot be given when a person is incapacitated or inebriated. The new law is meant to protect students against sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking.

With the “Yes Means Yes” law, the burden of proof is placed on the perpetrator instead of the victim. The accused assailant will have to prove their innocence, instead of the victim having to prove that they had been assaulted.

Thanh Bercher, anti-sexual assault organizer in the office of ASUC Senator Haley Broder and staff member for the ASUC Sexual Assault Commission explains, “Affirmative consent is less reliant on what has traditionally been needed for ‘evidence’ and more reliant on the scenario presented, which we haven’t seen in the past.”

Previously, all California schools had their own distinct sexual assault policies. This lack in state-wide uniformity rendered vague interpretations of consent, and made room for loose regulation. The purpose of the “Yes Means Yes” bill is to change this by concretely defining stalking, domestic violence, and sexual assault.

SB-967 affects all state schools in California, including postsecondary schools and public and private institutions that receive state funding for student financial aid. UC Berkeley has yet to adopt SB-967; however, the university had already implemented a policy of affirmative consent last spring, as defined in the campus’ Policy on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence. The policy states that both parties must be in a mental and physical state to give consent to any sexual activity. The inability to give consent means the victim was unable to give their consent to the sexual activity, whether that means they were unconscious; under threat of injury or coercion; incapacitated due to drugs, alcohol, or medication; or physically or mentally impaired rendering them unable to understand the act. The consent must be conscious, voluntary, lasting throughout, mutually affirmative, and can be revoked at any time.

There are efforts aimed at combatting the problem of sexual assault on campus. The Title IX officer in the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination is responsible for developing and managing all institutional compliance efforts on gender discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, sexual assault, athletics equity, and related civil rights investigations. She or he is supposed to “create and maintain a University campus community committed to positive values of equal opportunity, and [foster] a climate free from all forms of harassment, exploitation, or intimidation,” as written on the website for the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination. Currently there remains a culture of sexual assault on campus. According to the ASUC Student Advocate’s office there have not been any official sexual assault hearings at UC Berkeley between 2008 and Spring 2014, indicating that the issue cannot be resolved by one person alone and is still an issue. Campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore explains that students choose whether to carry out negotiations through the school conduct office or to take the case to a hearing; most settle with the student conduct office and do not push the issue any further.

Education plays a large role in sexual assault prevention. Previously, the administration did not place any class registration blocks on those students who did not complete EmpowerU, a workshop meant to educate students about sexual violence. Students who did not complete the workshop were not being informed of the affirmative consent policy, giving assailants room to later claim in court that they were unaware of the campus policies as evidence to defend themselves. Education has now been made mandatory— students who do not complete the EmpowerU workshop will receive a registration block.

In November, the Redefine Mine march organized by Jfem through the office of Senator Haley Broder aimed to redefine perceptions surrounding rape culture as well as slut-shaming and victim-blaming. The march created a safe space for people to redefine their boundaries and prerogatives and featured student speakers as well as campus organizations and resources in attempts to spread awareness.

Just because the assailant does not fit a certain harrowing image, just because he or she is an esteemed student, well-rounded athlete, or polished member of the Greek system does not mean that they are incapable of perpetrating sexual assault. With the “Yes Means Yes” standard, if either party is not in a mental state to say yes or no, affirmative consent can not be assumed. Students should not have to hold their breath hoping they will not be the one in three who is assaulted by the time they graduate. Consent is not only sexy, it is mandatory, and now it is written into law— yes means yes.