California enacts new law to combat sexual violence on college campuses
California colleges and universities which receive state funds must now adopt rules aimed at preventing sexual assaults against students, according to a new law. This includes an affirmative-consent standard, where parties involved are responsible for making sure that their partners are willing, keeping in mind that consent can be revoked at any time.
Under the legislation that Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Saturday, someone who is intoxicated, asleep or unconscious can not give affirmative consent, the Los Angeles Times reports. A person’s silence or lack of resistance does not amount to affirmative consent, the legislation states, and a dating relationship or sexual past between parties should never be presumed consent indicators. California is the first state to define a clear consent standard for college students and sex, according to the Times.
The law also directs colleges and universities to adopt trauma-informed training programs for campus representatives who investigate sexual-assault complaints, and “comprehensive prevention and outreach programs addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.” If campuses do not follow the law, they lose state funds for student financial assistance.
In a May 2014 editorial, the Los Angeles Times wondered if the legislation was reasonable or enforceable, noting that setting rules on how sex should proceed, particularly among young people, could be a fool’s errand.
But others say that colleges and universities historically have not taken sexual-assault complaints seriously enough. In May, the U.S. Department of Education released a list of 55 colleges and universities, including four from California, that were facing federal investigations about how they handle sexual assaults on campus.
In New York, Columbia University student Emma Sulkowicz recently launched “Carry the Weight” to draw attention to campus sexual assaults. Described as a performance piece by the The New Yorker, she carries a 50-pound twin mattress around campus, identical to the ones used in the dorms.
The project is Sulkowicz’s response to her alleged rape by a fellow student. A campus court found that he was not responsible, the New York Times reports, and some expressed frustration that the decision may have been reached in part because the two previously had consensual sex. Sulkowicz is also part of a group that has filed a Title IX complaint against Columbia with the Department of Education. This year, Columbia instituted a new consent policy, reports the New Yorker, requiring “unambiguous communication and mutual agreement” before sex acts.
Related articles:
ABAJournal.com: “California considers law requiring public colleges to set consent standards for sex”
ABAJournal.com: “Lawsuits, civil-rights complaints help bring attention to college sexual assaults”
