The words “yes” and “no”, while easy for many to understand, are somehow difficult to comprehend for a select group in our society. Consent, permission for something to happen or agreement to do something, has somehow evolved into one of the most confusing concepts for some to grasp. And unfortunately, this regular misunderstanding of consent has led to the growth of the abhorrent rape culture which currently plagues our society.
Due to the rise of rape culture and widespread ignorance of consent, it’s time that all states require affirmative consent to be a part of sexual education.
It’s 2017. It feels like we shouldn’t have to be teaching students that “no means no” and “yes means yes”, but matters are getting worse. In fact, according to RAINN, someone is sexually assaulted or raped every 98 seconds. In longer terms, there are a devastating 321,500 victims of rape or sexual assault every year. And after the United States just elected a president who has admittedly committed sexual assault, it’s hard to believe that this prevalent rape culture will be diminishing anytime soon.
In order to fix this problem, we need to nip it in the bud and begin educating students on what consent is and isn’t. For example, directly teaching that someone intoxicated is unable to give consent for sex would be a great step in taking down rape culture. Personally, I was never taught consent in my very limited fifth-grade sex ed class. Now, I hear my peers say disgusting phrases like “I’ll just get her drunk so I can get with her” and wish that consent had been taught to us at an early age rather than never.
Back in 2015, California made a major move in becoming the first state to require sexual education classes to cover affirmative consent in high school classes. This legislation, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, was a monumental stepping stone in what was looking to turn out to be a domino effect in other states. But it didn’t particularly end up that way.
To this day, California is still the only state requiring affirmative consent to be included to in high school classes. While several other states are considering similar legislature, every state needs to get on board with California and require consent education. If we want to do what’s right for the United States, we need to begin teaching students consent at an early age.
You can find your state representative here; I encourage you to contact them about considering affirmative consent education legislation.
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