el Don /SANTA ANA COLLEGE • MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2014/eldonnews.org
NEWS
PROTECTING COLLEGE law helping protect
WOMEN
Responding to a rising trend of rapes, Gov. Jerry Brown signs a
female students. Sexual assaults at California campuses rose 11 percent since 2010.
el Don /SANTA ANA COLLEGE • MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2014/eldonnews.org
BY KATIE PORTER / el Don
6
A new state law dealing with sexual
assault involving students is forcing
California colleges to rethink their
policies or risk losing federal funding.
Known as the “yes means yes” bill,
it was signed into law by Gov. Jerry
Brown last month. The law mandates
that colleges must define consent and
establish protocols.
The legislation is part of the government’s reaction to the rising number of sex crimes committed against
college-aged women.
One in four are raped and about 95
percent of campus rapes go unreported, U.S. Department of Justice
statistics show.
“Every woman deserves the right to
pursue the dream of higher education without being threatened by the
nightmare of violence and sexual
abuse,” said Sen. Kevin de Leon,
D-Los Angeles, in a press release.
De Leon introduced the bill
in February.
Sex crimes on campuses are increasing. Since 2011, five forcible sex
crimes have been reported at Santa
Ana and Santiago Canyon colleges.
Statewide the number has risen
from 276 in 2010 to 309 in 2012.
California universities have been
hit hard, with 10 campuses reporting
more than 20 incidents in that same
three-year period. Some of those,
including UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC,
and Occidental College, are under
federal investigation for how they
have handled victim allegations.
The legislation applies to community colleges, private schools, California
State University and University
of California campuses.
It establishes a consent standard
defined as an “affirmative, conscious
and voluntary agreement to engage
in sexual activity.”
This means both parties must
clearly agree to participate, and can’t
legally give consent if they are drunk,
high or asleep. It also mentions that
consent has to be ongoing and can
be revoked at any time, and a lack of
YES MEANS YES / President Barack Obama comforts rape victim Lilly Jay during the launch of the ‘It’s On Us’ campaign to
prevent sexual assault on college campuses as Vice President Joe Biden looks on. / Olivier Douliery / Tribune News Service
protest or resistance does not automatically mean yes.
“This law points out there has to be
an agreement. It puts the onus back
on the men .... If they do not hear
or see a yes, the answer is no,” Valerie Marino, SAC human sexuality
instructor said.
But the face of sexual assault is
changing, especially on college campuses. Statistics from a 2007 study
funded by the Department of Justice
shows the top three perpetrators are
friends, classmates and someone the
victims is in a relationship with.
“The term ‘date rape’ doesn’t exist
anymore; it’s now acquaintance rape,”
said Marino. “You don’t really want
to do it, but it’s a friend of yours, so
saying no will make you seem weird.
So you kind of go along with it quietly, but you haven’t said yes either. But
because you aren’t jumping up and
screaming no, the other person takes
it as a yes.”
Most sexual assailants use coercion
to pressure the victims. Marino says
students come to her with questions
all the time about personal incidences that they are unsure of, asking if it
could be considered rape if it “wasn’t
really violent.”
The gray area leaves victims confused and quiet. When it comes to
reasons for not reporting rape, 61
percent of respondents ۸