In the state of California, the affirmative consent law—also known as “yes means yes” law has been established. This law states that at every progressive stage in the acts leading up to and including sex, both participants must agree and say yes. The idea of this is to avoid any confusion and eliminate assumptions when it comes to sex, thus lessening the numbers of sexual assault victims.
Although this law is definitely a positive thing and a step in the right direction towards the prevention of rape and sexual assault, it is hard to see this actually helping. This law is very optimistic and unrealistic, especially from a woman’s perspective.
When you look at the “no means no” policy, it is a very firm phrase. No means no; there is no question about it and no argument. If someone says no, that’s it and it is over with. Does this mean the “yes means yes” law should be the same? If a woman says yes to sex, does that mean it is her final decision and she can’t change her mind? If she does change her mind and intercourse commences, could a man then argue that the woman did in fact say yes? If no means no, then yes means yes. It sounds simple, yet I see things getting pretty messy already.
The subject of alcohol always seems to coincide with sexual assault and rape stories, so let’s throw the “yes means yes” law into the mix. The law states that drunkenness is not an acceptable defense. This means that even if the woman or man says yes, if they are drunk that yes is nullified. However, if both parties are intoxicated, what then happens, and who is at fault?
Of course, in a court of law, just as with the “no means no” rule, it’s a he-said-she-said battle. In a typical case, no one else but the two engaging in sexual activity would have been present for the action. Therefore, no one else knows who said or did what.
In a way, this law could actually help predators by giving them another defense for themselves. Even if the woman didn’t say yes, a sexual assaulter could easily lie and say that she did. The act would then be—according to California law—consensual and legal.
While this law is not perfect, putting it in place does show that steps are being taken to prevent rape and sexual assault. Since 1 in 4 college females will be raped during their college careers, and there are 35.3 incidents of sexual assault per 1,000 female students on a campus, this is something that should be consistently talked about and worked on.
