Alba Reinoso

ENG 160 04 ESL

Prof. Alfieri

HW: Essay 3

The Swap of No to Yes

According to a 2015 article called "From no Means no to Only Yes Means Yes: The

Rational Results of an Affirmative Consent Standard in Rape Law", written by

Nicholas J. Little. In 2014 the state of California passed a law that brought attention

to the concept of affirmative consent. This law defines affirmative consent as

affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. In

recent years, most universities have started to adopt affirmative consent policies to

combat the prevalence of sexual assault on campuses today. It is fair to say that

virtually all college students are aware of sexual consent from a no means no

perspective.

It is exposed that "No means no", was a catchphrase used for a variety of

movements in college campuses. Despite this, it possesses a clear message. Many

still believe that a woman's verbal rejection of sexual advances does not create a

case of rape and at the same time, this well-known slogan places the burden on

victims, making it their responsibility to show resistance and that it has failed to

establish itself as the accepted legal standard. Which is why an affirmative consent

standard is considered by many people the best way and the new way to bring rape

law into line with the rest of criminal law. It will incentivize both men and women to
behave rationally and to give words spoken in a sexual content their normal meaning

(Little).

According to Stephen Schulhofer in his book "Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice"

he argues that "Affirmative Consent Standard reduces ambiguity in sexual situations,

by making it clear that the initiator of sexual contact must receive a verbal consent

from the other person before engaging in any sexual activity". He emphasizes that

currently, many men tend to assume that if a woman "does not say no" then that

means "yes" or interpret "silence" as a "yes. This kind of ambiguity can lead to a

sexual assault or in another scenario, a person who is incapacitated by drugs or

alcohol cannot give consent.

Schulhofer also states that sex requires everyone in the room to be on board for

whatever is happening. At any moment during a sexual encounter, something can

change. Consent can be withdrawn. You could find yourself crossing the line from

heavy petting to unwanted groping in a split second, which is why consent must be

ongoing throughout the sexual encounter.

Kevin de Len, a regular contributor to the Washington Post, stated in his article

"Why we made Yes Means Yes California law" that "the no means no slogan proved

ineffective, which is the reason that legislation need to take a major step toward

preventing sexual violence". He maintains that this legislation requires preventative

education during student orientations and increased access to counseling resources

and also that the most outstanding aspect of this law is that it protects both partners

by keeping the rules clear and ensuring a mutual understanding.

Obviously, the yes means yes law is well-intentioned and clearly, both law

enforcement and universities must make a move concerning rape in college

campuses. Yet, according to Susan Milligan in her article "The Problem with

California's 'Yes Means Yes' Law" she stated that this law suggests that somehow

forcing someone to have sex isnt an affirmative act of aggression, but just some big

misunderstanding, as though the rapist or sexual attacker just innocently misread a

womans signals when she pushed him away or lay unconscious on a dorm bed.

At the same time, Milligan claims that although affirmative consent may seem like a

move in the right direction, this law is like putting Band-Aids on a gaping wound and

that if we truly want to address rape culture, we need to confront our culture of

objectification and that by making it mandatory to say yes before proceeding to

participate in a sexual encounter, we are making almost no progress to address

these underlying cultural issues.

Supporting the last statement, Ted Rall in his article Will 'yes means yes' create

more problems than it solves? for Los Angeles Times, expressed that the problem

with this law is that it tacitly validates the attempted defense of many accused rapists

that women are too hard to read and that if they had known that their actions were

unwanted, they would have backed off.

He also agrees with Milligan by arguing how would "yes means yes" change the "he

says, she says" dynamic of date rape? If a guy would lie about a woman "wanting it"

before, surely he would lie about having received affirmative consent.

According to his point of view, rape is a problem old as time and sadly, it isnt likely to

go away soon. However, the best solution is that we as a society can raise

awareness about this topic, in order to clear out aspects like educate young

individuals about sexuality.

In conclusion, it is important to highlight that affirmative consent will not immediately

prevent rape. Nor will it result in all rapists being convicted. In many, if not all, cases,

a rape trial will still result in a classic "he said, she said" situation. Ultimately, the

matter of whether a woman consented or not will come down to a matter of belief by

the jury. Nevertheless, affirmative consent represents a shift in the way society look

at the process of consenting. This law views sex as an act that should be entered

into willingly by both parties and to encourage both parties to behave in a more

rational manner.
 Works Cited

De Len, Kevin. "Why we made Yes Means Yes California law". The Washington
Post. WP Company. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Little, Nicholas J. "From no Means no to Only Yes Means Yes: The Rational Results
of an Affirmative Consent Standard in Rape Law." Vanderbilt Law Review 58.4
(2015): 1321-64. ProQuest. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.

Milligan, Susan. "The Problem with California's 'Yes Means Yes' Law." U.S.News &
World Report 08 2014: 1. ProQuest. Web. 6 Apr. 2017.

Rall, Ted. Will 'yes means yes' create more problems than it solves? Los Angeles
Times. Web. 30 Oct. 2014

Schulhofer, Stephen J. "Rape: Legal Aspects." Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice,

edited by Joshua Dressler, 2nd ed., vol. 3, Macmillan Reference USA, 2015, pp.
1306-1314. Gale Virtual Reference Library, libdatabase.newpaltz.edu/login