If you hug your boyfriend and as a result your clothed body (including your breasts) touches him, you could be accused of “sexual assault” through “sexual contact” under the University of Virginia’s broad new “sexual assault” policy adopted to appease the Office for Civil Rights, where I used to work (assuming you do it without explicitly agreeing on the details of the hug). 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.” Portions of U.Va.’s policy are reprinted below.).

This is an outrageous violation of students’ privacy rights.

Moreover, making out is now effectively forbidden at the University of Virginia, which has rewritten its Interim Sexual Assault Policy under the impetus of the Education Department’s Title IX investigation. U.Va.’s new policy requires “affirmative consent” (rather than “effective consent,” as before) not just to sex, but also sexual contact, which encompasses touching. Of course, no one ever says things like “may I touch your breast” before doing so. These things are welcomed after they begin, not authorized in advance, but the policy effectively forbids step-by-step ratification after the fact (i.e., making out) by banning any touching “however slight” without such authorization, so if you touch your partner an instant before they welcome it, you’ve presumably violated the policy. Conduct should not be banned where it was not “unwelcome,” and not against the victim’s will, since unwelcomeness is an essential element of a Title IX sexual harassment claim (college sexual assault and harassment policies are required by Title IX, which requires that colleges not ignore sexual assaults and other misconduct that constitute unwelcome sexual harassment that is severe and pervasive. U.Va.’s policy is adopted under the rubric of Title IX. For potential constitutional problems created by policies similar to U.Va.’s, see this link.)

U.Va.’s policy provides: