Consent

Check out this article in the Maine Campus school newspaper on sexual assault. What are everybody's thoughts on this? Do you feel that sex must be explicitly authorized everytime it takes place? Do situations exist in which no actual discussion needs to take place for it to be ethical? What about when alcohol is involved?

What I found to be particularly alarming, was that this girl's definition of what constitutes sexual assault and "consent" was fairly accurate. To the best of my knowledge, this is technically what the law says on this issue. Under those terms, I personally should be convicted a serial rapist. I'm sure there have been multiple occasions in which I engaged in sexual contact without saying, "is it okay that you and I are engaging in sexual contact?" and the girl said, "yes, it is okay that you and I are engaging in sexual contact."

I think sexual assault/rape is an incredibly serious issue. For actual, non-ambiguous assaults that do happen, I would favor increasing the penalties. As Chris suggested, anybody who has ever been convicted of a sexual assault should be banned from reproducing. At the same time, we have to be realistic about what rape is and how keep in touch with the real world. I think there's an inherent sexist component in how this girl who authored the article is defining consent. She's saying the male is guilty of sexual assault if both parties are drunk and the girl does not say "yes." Why is it not sexual assault if the man does not say "yes?"

I think the "no means no" standard is ideal. This shows, in no uncertain terms, that consent has not been granted. It also follows basic ethical standards and common sense that should be center to evaluating what constitutes consent. It places no burden on either party to make themselves clear and reduces some of the gray area on an issue with a good deal of gray area.