{"id":249,"date":"2022-06-21T11:23:28","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T11:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/breakthecycle.org\/back-school-defining-consent-sexual-relationships\/"},"modified":"2024-04-13T21:49:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T21:49:24","slug":"back-school-defining-consent-sexual-relationships","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/blog\/back-school-defining-consent-sexual-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to School: Defining Consent in Sexual Relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"main\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"column\" role=\"main\">\n<div class=\"region region-above-content\">\n<div id=\"block-block-10\" class=\"block block-block first last odd\">\n<p class=\"o877gxqusjkh4ofpr\">\n<p class=\"o877gxqusjkh4ofpr\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6em;\">Please note: Entries within this blog may contain references to instances of domestic abuse, dating abuse, sexual assault, abuse or harassment. At all times, Break the Cycle encourages readers to take whatever precautions necessary to protect themselves emotionally and psychologically.\u00a0 If you would like to speak with an advocate, please contact a 24\/7 peer advocate at\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6em;\" href=\"tel:866-331-9474\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">866-331-9474<\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;\"><i>\u00a0 or text &#8220;loveis&#8221; to 22522.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-quickedit-field-id=\"node\/2591\/title\/und\/full\">Back to School: Defining Consent in Sexual Relationships<\/div>\n<article class=\"node-2591 node node-btc-blog-post node-promoted view-mode-full clearfix\" data-quickedit-entity-id=\"node\/2591\">\n<header><span class=\"rdf-meta element-hidden\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"rdf-meta element-hidden\">\u00a0<\/span><\/header>\n<div class=\"field field-name-field-bp-image field-type-image field-label-hidden\" data-quickedit-field-id=\"node\/2591\/field_bp_image\/und\/full\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden\" data-quickedit-field-id=\"node\/2591\/body\/und\/full\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<p class=\"o877gxqusjkh4ofpr\">The idea of sexual consent continues to dominate the news. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2014\/09\/29\/352482932\/california-enacts-yes-means-yes-law-defining-sexual-consent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/new-york-yes-means-yes-sexual-consent-policy-private-colleges\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York<\/a> have recently signed or are in the middle of discussions on &#8220;yes means yes&#8221; bills, which would require both partners to give &#8220;affirmative consent&#8221; before performing sexual acts with each other. Over <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/schools-investigation-sexual-assault_55b19b43e4b0074ba5a40b77\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> for the mishandling of sexual assault cases on campus. And recent reports show that <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/news\/2015\/06\/15\/new-survey-finds-1-5-college-women-have-experienced-sexual-assault\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1 in 5 college women experience sexual assault<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"o877gxqusjkh4ofpr\">So what is the exact definition of &#8220;sexual assault,&#8221; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.loveisrespect.org\/is-this-abuse\/types-of-abuse\/#tab-id-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;sexual abuse&#8221;<\/a>, and &#8220;rape&#8221;? It varies depending on each state, and the wording can be confusing since states may use different words to mean the same thing. RAINN has a resourceful State Law Database to help guide you through definitions based on the state you live in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"o877gxqusjkh4ofpr\">How can you determine if an incident is actually sexual assault? Ask the following questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are both participants involved in the act old enough to consent? Each state has a different &#8220;age of consent&#8221; defined as the minimum age someone has to be in order to consent to sexual activity. So, even if a teenager says &#8220;yes,&#8221; their state law may dictate that they cannot legally agree to have sex.<\/li>\n<li>Can both people legally agree to consent? If someone is drunk, drugged or unconscious, they do not have the legal ability to consent to sex. Each definition varies by state, so it\u2019s important to check the law.<\/li>\n<li>Did both people agree to take part in the consent? If a partner proceeded with a sexual activity but the other said no, it\u2019s not consensual sex. It doesn\u2019t matter if one person thought the other meant yes or if sex already began, or if a person did not resist physically &#8211; it is still not consensual.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"o877gxqusjkh4ofpr\">Sexual assault victims often know the person who is assaulting them, but it doesn\u2019t matter if the person using abusive behaviors is an ex-partner, a stranger, an acquaintance, a past dating &#8220;hook up&#8221;, a date, or a current dating partner. If it is not consensual in that moment, it is sexual assault. It also doesn\u2019t matter if someone doesn\u2019t remember the assault, as memory loss can happen if a person digests &#8220;rape drugs&#8221; like GHB. Furthermore, if alcohol or drugs were involved, it\u2019s not an excuse. It\u2019s also important to remember that every act requires consent. Even if two partners have engaged in some kind of sexual activity, that does not mean all sexual activity is allowed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"o877gxqusjkh4ofpr\">How do you figure out consent in the moment? Ask. This eliminates uncertainty. Even if it seems awkward, it\u2019s not. Asking for consent every step of the way means engaging in open and honest communication between both partners. If a partner seems hesitant or uncomfortable, stop immediately. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.loveisrespect.org\/healthy-relationships\/sex-and-healthy-relationships\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In healthy relationships<\/a>, both partners gauge what\u2019s okay and reassure the other it\u2019s okay if they don\u2019t want to do anything or don\u2019t want to perform a specific sexual act.<\/p>\n<p class=\"o877gxqusjkh4ofpr\">If you\u2019re unsure whether you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.loveisrespect.org\/for-yourself\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">call one of our trained peer advocates<\/a> at 1.888.331.9474 or contact the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rainn.org\/get-help\/national-sexual-assault-hotline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Sexual Assault Online Hotline<\/a> or the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-HOPE). Both are free and available 24\/7.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Please note: Entries within this blog may contain references to instances of domestic abuse, dating &#8230; <a title=\"Back to School: Defining Consent in Sexual Relationships\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/blog\/back-school-defining-consent-sexual-relationships\/\" aria-label=\"More on Back to School: Defining Consent in Sexual Relationships\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":600,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/249"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4635,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/249\/revisions\/4635"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}