JOYCE M. SHORT- Founder & CEO of the Consent Awareness Network CAN
Joyce Short survived three distinct types of sexual assault – all three covered by Model Penal Code – by force, by duress, and by deception. Her struggle to recover led her to research what actually constitutes rape and sexual assault across the US and around the world. She discovered that no state or jurisdiction actually includes a definition for the noun, consent, in their laws.
Ms. Short is the author of Your Consent – The Key to Conquering Sexual Assault and a TEDx Talk Presenter. She launched her efforts to conquer sexual assault by fighting for desperately needed laws on “consent.”
In 2009, she founded the Consent Awareness Network (CAN) to create the public’s demand for change and to reach out to legislators to enact transformational laws. CAN’s efforts are supported by survivors of high profile cases like Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, NXIVM, and more.
CAN is responsible for two bills in New York State to define consent as freely given, knowledgeable and informed agreement by a person with the capacity to reason. CAN has also succeeded in introducing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act in the US.
Ms. Short was honored as a “Woman of Distinction by the NY State Assembly. She’s been featured in Nightline, BuzzFeed, Inside Edition, The New York Times, CBS News, WPIX, Fox News, and more.