Yes Means Yes: College Students Encouraged To Have Sexual Partners Sign ‘Consent Contracts’
The “Affirmative Consent Project” is an advocacy group that is encouraging college students to have sexual partners sign “consent contracts” before engaging in sexual acts. The group is distributing Consent Conscious Kit across the nation to college students as a means of ensuring that both parties are officially consenting to the intercourse that is about to take place. The advocacy group says “yes means yes,” and the contract will help prove it. The kit contains a form that states: “On this date (fill in the blank), we agree to have consensual sex with one another.” After the statement, there are lines for both sexual partners to sign. Each sexual partner is then encouraged to take a photograph of the “consent contract” to keep for proof should it be needed later on. However, some are questioning whether the sexual “consent contract” would even hold up in court.
Fox 25 reports that the Affirmative Consent Project wants to ensure that college students are absolutely certain that their sexual partner is consenting before engaging in any sexual acts. Therefore, the group has created “consent conscious kits” which contain “consent contracts,” condoms, breath mints, and a pen that can be used to sign the contract.
The contract is brief and to the point. It is simply a piece of paper that states, “On this date (fill in the blank), we agree to have consensual sex with one another.” The form then has lines for each consenting party to print and sign their name. The group says that both individuals can take a photograph with the form or, if no camera is available, each party can keep a copy of the signed contract.
The “yes means yes” movement comes after many sexual assault advocates claim that “no means no” is not enough. Instead of the accuser needing to prove that they said “no” to the accused, the movement wants the accused to provide proof that the accuser said “yes.” However, as the Washington Examiner points out, this would dramatically change how our court system typically functions. It would shift the burden of proof from an accuser to the accused. Essentially, it would provide no way for an accused sexual assaulter from defending themselves unless the entire encounter was videotaped and the accused could show that the accuser did, in fact, say “yes.” The “consent contract” is meant to take the place of a video recording, but the contract could be thrown out in court if the accuser says she was intoxicated or in fear when she signed the document.
The “yes means yes” project notes that an intoxicated individual is not legally able to consent to sex. Therefore, if the sexual partner was intoxicated, the “consent contract” it would be void. This means without a video to prove the accuser was not intoxicated, the form could be tossed, bringing us back to the accused needing a video of the entire encounter to defend himself in court.
What do you think about “consent contracts” before engaging in sex? Are they a good idea or just a good way to dampen the mood before a sexual encounter? Do you think they would hold up in court?
[Image Credit: Affirmative Consent Project]
