The California Senate took one step closer to transforming the way sexual assault is treated on college campuses Thursday, passing the “yes-means-yes” bill that will require students engaging in sexual activity to give unambiguous, affirmative consent.
Amid the current national discussion being pushed by the Obama administration to address the problem of rape on campuses, Gov. Jerry Brown has until Sept. 30 to sign the bill. If signed, California would be the first state to introduce such legislation.
If the legislation is adopted, a new standard will replace the previous standard of “no-means-no,” which put the responsibility on the victim verbalizing they did not want to engage in sexual activity.
Under the “yes-means-yes” bill, formally named SB 967, both parties would need to give affirmative consent — a standard that does not include a person remaining silent, lacking resistance or giving consent while intoxicated.
“It’s more about bringing to light the need for people —not males, for people — to understand the concept of consent,” said Dr. Gregory Thatcher, a Fresno State professor in public health.
While acknowledging the bill has the right intentions, Thatcher said monitoring and enforcing the legislation would be difficult.
“I hope that every state endorses some formal bill that requires consent to be verbal, because it’s showing that solidarity,” Thatcher said. “But they’re all going to face the same problem.”
Thatcher conducted research on sexual assault using more than 1,000 Fresno State students in a study that was published in the International Electronic Journal of Health Education in 2011. He said the vast majority of college females fail to come forward because “a lot of them don’t understand that they’ve been sexually assaulted.”
“They know what it is in the outside world. They don’t know what it is when it’s happened to them,” Thatcher said of sexual assault victims. “So I think that is part of the intent of the bill, to get people to look at if from ‘my own perspective — did I hear the word yes?’ It’s no longer looking for the ‘no.’”
Thatcher’s study showed 17.9 percent of participants were victims of sexual assault. Of those, 4.2 percent reported they were victims of completed rape.
The Obama administration, which has been using the statistic that 1 in 5 women on college campuses have been sexually assaulted, has sourced its stats from a 2007 study conducted for the Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice.
In that study, 19 percent of women and 6.1 percent of men had experienced attempted or completed sexual assault since entering college. Of those numbers, 11.1 percent of women and 3.4 percent of men reported being in an incapacitated state and unable to provide consent — either having voluntarily consumed alcohol or drugs, suspected to have been drug-facilitated or been asleep during the incident.
Thatcher’s research compared three student groups who were exposed to different sexual assault prevention content — one through a theater performance, one through a video presentation and one through controlled group classes.
The results showed those shown the theater performance had a better gauge of whether they had been sexually assaulted or not. For example, five students who reported being sexually assaulted prior to seeing the performance changed their reports to completed rape post-performance.
“Basically, it showed that my program got them to understand what happened to them,” Thatcher said.
Jessica Adams, coordinator of the Women’s Resource Center at Fresno State, said the bill is a good step in putting “more power in everybody’s hands” and shedding light on how consent is perceived.
“I think the goal of this [the bill] is to help everybody not accidently become a perpetrator, or not accidently become a victim,” Adams said.
New programs emerging in light of nationwide push
If the bill is signed, it also means all public colleges and institutions, such as the California State University and University of California systems, which receive state funds for student aid, will be required to implement specific policies and protocols.
“The bill would also require the governing boards to implement comprehensive prevention and outreach programs addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking,” the bill states.
Although the likes of the Women’s Resource Center, the Title IX office and the Student Health Center already provide information and support systems for victims of sexual assault, Adams said new initiatives are in the works due to the increased focus from politicians on the federal and state levels.
“It’s something that I’m very happy to see everyone is talking about, it’s very refreshing,” Adams said. “I just want it to stay up, and I want people to keep talking about it.”
One such program that may be introduced by spring semester is HAVEN, a web program focused on sexual assault prevention. Adams said the program could be mandatory for all students and will be completed before they complete spring registration.
Dr. Frank Lamas, vice president for student affairs, said providing educational programs such as HAVEN is a way to make students more aware and create a “campus climate we will all feel positive about.”
In the draft copy of the 2014-15 Division of Student Affairs Strategic Plan, several strategies are outlined to improve safety and wellness at Fresno State. Areas of focus specified in the draft include bystander intervention, hazing prevention, relationship violence and alcohol and substance abuse.
Lamas, who joined Fresno State this semester, said changes will be made accordingly as he familiarizes himself with the programming already in place.
“Some programs will continue, some may be enhanced, and some may be new,” he said.
Although the sexual assault bill originated through state legislation, Lamas said improving safety and wellness at Fresno State will require partnerships throughout various groups in the university — including the student body.
In order to see how effective certain programs are, Lamas said, “students will also have to weigh in.”
Also recently introduced was sexual assault training during this summer’s Dog Days. Adams said every new student went through the training that featured information about consent and bystander intervention.
Adams said some faculty and staff trainings would be underway in the future.
“A lot of times, students have relationships with professors where they trust them, so when something happens they go to them for help or advice,” Adams said. “Sometimes staff or professors don’t know how to handle that or where to send them, so we’re making an extra effort to try reach out to all faculty and staff so that they know what the resources are here on campus.”
Thatcher, who will be on sabbatical next semester conducting his research in Florida, said more educational programs about sexual assault are needed at Fresno State.
“We do some things that some people would consider programming, but there’s very little,” he said.
However, Thatcher said the effectiveness of programs and the discrepancies between researchers about what causes sexual assault must be kept in mind.
“My personal belief is that it’s miscommunication, but a lot of people disagree with that,” he said.
“You’ve got to be cognizant of the fact there’s not a lot of programming that’s been proven effective,” Thatcher said. “But the school should still be doing more than they’re doing.”
Still underreported
Both Thatcher and Adams believe sexual assault at Fresno State is underreported, reflecting the national trend.
“We’re lucky in this department (Women’s Resource Center) that we have a good report with our students,” Adams said. “I hear a lot of things that might be happening around campus, more than what’s being reported.”
Five reports of forcible sex offenses on campus were made to the Fresno State Police Department in 2012. Statistics for 2013 were not readily made available.
In the discussion about sexual assault amongst college students, Thatcher said it is important to differentiate between on-campus and off-campus assaults when considering the statistics.
“Keep in mind, a lot of those sexual assaults do happen off campus, so campus sexual assault is what happens and is reported on campus, and that needs to be distinguished,” Thatcher said.
“I’ve heard people say police departments don’t do their job,” he said. “That’s absolutely not true. I have a lot of respect for the people who work over there because I know they do they’re best with what they’re given.”
