Cal State Long Beach and other California colleges are moving one step closer to requiring students to say “yes” before sex.
“Affirmative consent” Senate Bill 967 passed the State Senate on Thursday and would require campuses to install a new consent standard for dealing with sexual assault reports if signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.
According to the bill’s text, affirmative consent is defined as an “affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity.” The consent must also be ongoing throughout sexual encounters and can end at any time, according to the bill. The bill also says that a current or past dating relationship between the participants involved cannot be assumed to indicate consent.
“This bill is going to require consistency across campuses, and not just upholding the law, but in creating [procedures] that are survivor-centered,” CSULB Assistant Dean of Students Jeane R. Caveness said. “With the passage of this bill, we have turned a corner in creating a more positive campus response for our survivors and instilling a stronger responsibility on the university to provide greater education and prevention activities.”
For senior psychology and women studies double major Julissa Salas, SB 967 would lessen the stigma for victims of sexual assault.
“Many people also feel shame or guilt after being attacked so they do not come forward,” she said via email.
Salas, who serves as Associated Students Inc. Secretary of Women’s Affairs, said that she was in an abusive relationship with someone who physically, emotionally and sexually assaulted her regularly.
“I would often blame myself, or believe that it was normal,” she said. “I luckily have been out of that relationship for over two years and received the help that I needed.”
Salas said that if the bill passes, she believes the number of sexual assaults would decrease.
“But also since students will be more educated about consent and what dating violence consists of, that more reporting will be done,” she said.
Free resources such as the WRC and Counseling and Psychological Service are free and provide a safe place for students to receives services like individual and group psychotherapy,
crisis intervention and referrals, according to the CSULB website.
Salas said that she has read the pros and cons of SB 967, and the pros heavily outweigh the cons. “It is important that all students are educated about sexual assault, rape, stalking and dating/relationship violence,” she said. “Education, which includes an open discussion, about these matters is the key to prevention.”
Brown has until Sept. 30 to sign the bill, and Salas said that she hopes he approves it.
“Many people do not know what rape or sexual assault looks like; for example, many people believe that someone’s partner cannot sexually assault them, which is not the case,” she said.