HARI SREENIVASAN:

California recently made affirmative consent the law. And other states are considering similar moves, while many schools have made it a part of their policy.

Here to discuss this are Jaclyn Friedman, editor of the book "Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape," and Shikha Dalmia of the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank. She is also a columnist for the magazine "The Week."

So, Ms. Friedman, I want to start with you.

Explain what exactly affirmative consent means, and why do you think it's necessary?

JACLYN FRIEDMAN, Editor, "Yes Means Yes!": Affirmative consent is the basic principle that all people participating in a sexual act or experience with each other have to make sure that their partner is not only not objecting, but that they're actually actively into whatever is happening.

It's really that simple. And if you can't tell, you have to ask. It's necessary because no means no, which we have all learned, is not adequate, right? There are a lot of situation where, if a person feels threatened or overpowered, they may freeze up and not protest, even though they don't want anything to happen to them, or that they might be incapacitated from drugs or alcohol and can't protest.

And, oftentimes, these are used as defenses by rapists, and they get away with it, and are left free to re-offend. And so we really need to move to a standard that says it's on all of us to make sure that our partners are actively enjoying whatever is happening between us, which seems also like a pretty basic human principle.