Yes Means Yes - This is a phrase that might sound familiar, but in a different use of words; instead of 'yes means yes,' 'no means no.' And the fact is that the second one was the known up to now. Yesterday, Sept. 28th, Governor Jerry Brown announced in Sacramento that he signed the 'Yes means Yes' bill.
'Yes means Yes' is a law of consent that individuals give towards a sexual relation. The main idea it follows is to clear out what really determines a consent and that a 'yes' is needed in one way or another.
A much clear way to explain it is given by Savannah Badalich, a student at UCLA, who told Associated Press, "It's going to educate an entire new generation of students on what consent is and what consent is not... that the absence of a no is not a yes."
California would be the first state to pass this bill and soon it's calculated that other colleges will be following the same steps.
The bill in one excerpt, declares: "'Affirmative consent' means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that he or she has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent."
It does look like this law is a lot more strict than the ones faced before and it leaves no doubt that truly 'yes means yes' and not otherwise. Consent is seen not only verbally, but nonverbally also, taking over a lot of causes that were justified due to a nonverbal consent before.
To add up, a 'Consent is sexy' campaign is being conducted, as well as a Webpage of 'Yes means Yes,' which informs and aids to victims and people who simply would like to know more.
'Yes means Yes' looks promising, hopefully it will be effective.