April 29, 2015



A Hug Now Requires "Affirmative Consent" At UVA -- Or You're Guilty Of Sexual Assault

If you don't explicitly ask for and get permission for your clothed body to touch another person's clothed body in a hug, you could now be accused of "sexual assault" through "sexual contact" at UVA.

It's part of UVA's broad new "sexual assault" policy, explains Hans Bader at Liberty Unyielding:

Because U.Va. lumps together touching, "however slight," and intercourse when it comes to sexual assault, requiring "affirmative" consent for both. ("Affirmative consent" is a misleading term, and does not include many forms of consent that occur in the real world, and are recognized by the courts, as I explain at this link. The new policy further warns that "Relying solely on non-verbal communication before or during sexual activity can lead to misunderstanding and may result in a violation of this Policy."

Here is the essential bit from the new UVA "sexual assault" policy:

A. SEXUAL ASSAULT Sexual Assault consists of (1) Sexual Contact and/or (2) Sexual Intercourse that occurs without (3) Affirmative Consent. (1) Sexual Contact is:

 Any intentional sexual touching

 However slight

 With any object or body part (as described below)

 Performed by a person upon another person Sexual Contact includes (a) intentional touching of the breasts, buttocks, groin or genitals, whether clothed or unclothed, or intentionally touching another with any of these body parts; and (b) making another touch you or themselves with or on any of these body parts. (2) Sexual Intercourse is:

 Any penetration

 However slight

 With any object or body part (as described below)

 Performed by a person upon another person Sexual Intercourse includes (a) vaginal penetration by a penis, object, tongue, or finger; (b) anal penetration by a penis, object, tongue, or finger; and (c) any contact, no matter how slight, between the mouth of one person and the genitalia of another person. (3) Affirmative Consent is:

 Informed (knowing)

 Voluntary (freely given)

 Active (not passive), meaning that, through the demonstration of clear

words or actions, a person has indicated permission to engage in mutually agreed-upon sexual activity.

This is an awful invasion of students' lives and sex lives. Bader gives an example in another piece of how absurd policies like this play out in real life, within a marriage:

The University of California, on February 25, adopted a policy requiring affirmative consent not just to sex, but to every form of "physical sexual activity" engaged in. I and my wife have been happily married for more than a decade, and like 99.9% of married couples, we do not engage in verbal discussion before engaging in each and every form of sexual activity. Indeed, in the first year of our daughter's life, when she was a very light sleeper (she would wake up if you merely walked into her bedroom and stepped on a creaky part of the bedroom floor), it would have been unthinkable for us to engage in any kind of "out loud" discussion in our bedroom, which is right next to hers (the walls in our house are very thin, and you can hear sounds from one room in the next room). We certainly did not verbally discuss then whether to have sex. Having sex quietly when you are a parent is a sign that you are considerate of sleeping family members, and have a healthy marriage, not of sexual abuse.

Also, most sexual contact you have with a person you're dating or in a relationship with, you don't want to ask for. "May I kiss you now?" "May I use my penis to penetrate your vagina now?" I mean, if you have to ask that way, never the fuck mind, because I'm going to read a book.

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