As David Mack aptly described in his BuzzFeed article, Justin Schneider was not convicted of sexual assault in Alaska. Ejaculating on a victim’s face while they’re out cold was not a crime…. not even when he admitted that he’d choked her to knock her out.
Alaska’s statutes called for physical touch of body parts, not semen, to hold Schneider accountable. Too late for his victim, the Alaska Continue reading Plugging-Up How Many Loopholes Equals Consent?
Featured today in NFReads, Joyce Short’s article: “Why “consent” is critical for protecting you and your family.”
More and more, we’re seeing men take responsibility for preventing sexual assault. The ItsOnUs campaign focuses on men stepping in when they see potential or actual danger. And no one, neither mother nor father, wants their child harmed by a sexual predator.
The average age for a sex trafficked girl is 13. And boys are also sex traffic targets. Parents need to combat the dangers long before their Continue reading 5 Fatherly ways to Protect kids from Sexual Assault – for #FathersDay and Forever!
Little by little, the concept that deceiving someone about conduct involving their reproductive organs is a crime is seeping into society’s consciousness. This past Wednesday, Texas Gov. Greg Wiley took a giant step forward that brings this critical issue to light by signing Senate Bill #1259 into law. It becomes effective on September 1.
The new Texas law is based on the case of Eve Wiley whose birth resulted from the artificial insemination of her mother by Dr. Kim McMorries. Instead of impregnating her by the sperm of the donor Continue reading Texas Passes First Sexual Assault by Fraud Law!
In the US, states often attempt to define the word “consent” by what it’s not instead of what it is. And our system of justice ironically changes “consent” depending on what you’re consenting to.
Regardless what antiquated, inaccurate penal code tells you, whether consent is applied to cyber security, theft, medical treatment, research experiments, sexual assault, etc., consent is always the same….. #FGKIA, Freely Given, Knowledgeable and Informed Agreement.
It’s high time our legislators pull their heads out of the sand and get it right!
Why is defining something by what it’s not a bizarre approach?
The list of what it’s not is infinity minus what it is. So making claims about what it’s not is a backwards way to look at a definition.
Don’t mean to be insulting, just trying to make a point…. Here are some of the things consent is not:
On what planet is defining “what it’s not” the same as defining “what it is?” And even when you add the caveat that what it’s not is “not limited to the following,” you can bet that law enforcement, prosecutors, judges and juries, will apply the oldest legal doctrine, Nulla peona sine lege – “What is not expressly prohibited by law is permissible,” on a case by case basis.
At least Montana gets it right by doing it backwards
Montana’s statute #45-5-501(1)(a), applies all the Model Penal Code “Consent Provision” elements of “force, duress (coercion,) and deception, which is consistent with the definition of consent; #FGKIA, Freely Given, Knowledgeable and Informed Agreement. In Montana, you can’t secure consent by deception, coercion, or surprise. Problem is that Montana still blames victims with their “words and overt actions” statement. they could sum up all 26 lines of what consent is not with one simple line… “Consent is freely given, knowledgeable and informed agreement.”
If your legislators bury their heads in the sand to pretend they don’t see that consent is freely given knowledgeable and informed agreement, point them to my TEDx Talk, GDPR, Nuremberg Code, Model Penal Code and Montana’s Law.
But even Montana can benefit by adding the clarification that consent is “freely given, knowledgeable and informed agreement” to its statutes to make the meaning of consent crystal clear.
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You can help!
Donate to ConsentAwareness.Net
Watch this TEDxTalk
Read Your Consent – The Key to Conquering Sexual Assault
Call your legislator and demand change!