Many of the inequalities in the laws regarding rape and intimate violence reflect cultural norms. Reformers have attempted to challenge deeply entrenched social norms through changes in laws an policies. For example, the Sexual Offense Prevention Policy adopted by Antioch College and Gettysburg College which says that “consent must be obtained verbally before there is any sexual contact or conduct,” that “silence is never interpreted as consent,” and that obtaining consent is an ongoing process during any sexual encounter: “If the level of sexual intimacy increases during an interaction (i.e., two people move from kissing while fully clothed, which is one level, to undressing for direct physical contact, which is another level), the people involved need to express their clear verbal consent before moving to that new level.” The intent of the policy is to place on the person who wants to move to a different level of sexual intimacy the burden of obtaining a clear, verbal expression of consent from his or her partner. Although the policy was mocked by major news magazines and parodied in a Saturday Night Live skit, according to reporters who interviewed students about the effect of the Antioch policy, “People are not having less sex, they are just talking about it.”
Are perceptual gaps between men and women so vast that states should change their consent statutes along the lines of Antioch’s policy to require explicit verbal consent or overt conduct indicating consent?
If you were a campus administrator, what would you do about the phenomenon of campus sexual assaults?