{"id":24660,"date":"2014-03-12T11:15:15","date_gmt":"2014-03-12T16:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/?p=24660"},"modified":"2014-03-12T11:15:15","modified_gmt":"2014-03-12T16:15:15","slug":"the-affirmative-consent-meme-meets-the-purity-test-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/2014\/03\/12\/the-affirmative-consent-meme-meets-the-purity-test-form\/","title":{"rendered":"The “affirmative consent” meme meets the “purity test” form"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we’re regularly informed by media outlets and websites, we are in the middle of a rape epidemic, with skyrocketing rates of rape (especially on the campus). Wendy McElroy<\/a> discusses the new White House initiative for “affirmative consent” and the actual<\/em> statistics on sexual crimes:<\/p>\n

It is called \u201caffirmative consent<\/a>.\u201d It is a new front in the growing regulatory oversight of the most intimate aspect of personal life: making love or having sex. If the White House Council on Women and Girls gets its way, then the doctrine of affirmative consent will regulate sex on a campus near you. It may already be happening.<\/p>\n

Affirmative consent is sometimes called \u201centhusiastic consent\u201d or \u201cyes means yes.\u201d It is intended to replace the current standard of \u201cno means no.\u201d By that standard, the noninitiating sexual partner \u2014 almost always assumed to be the woman \u2014 needs to decline sex in some manner for the act to be legally viewed as rape. She can verbally decline, try to leave, or push the man away; her \u201cno\u201d can be expressed in many ways.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

The legal standard of affirmative consent is said to solve these perceived problems. The person initiating sex must receive explicit consent before and throughout the sex act in order to escape the specter of rape. In practical terms, this means the man<\/em> must receive explicit consent from the woman<\/em> prior to and during a sex act, or he becomes vulnerable to being criminally charged.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When I read this, I instantly imagined a re-worked “sexual purity test<\/a>” questionnaire for the new affirmative consent requirement. If it hasn’t already been done, I’m sure it’ll be posted somewhere within the week.<\/p>\n

On the rather more dubious claim that rape is increasing, the stats don’t back that up at all:<\/p>\n

There is a proximate cause for the growing campaign to assert affirmative consent on campuses and in legislatures. On January 22, 2014, the White House Council on Women and Girls issued a paper entitled \u201cRape and Sexual Assault: A Renewed Call to Action\u201d (PDF<\/a>). It stated, \u201c1 in 5 women has been sexually assaulted while in college.\u201d That\u2019s a stunning statistic. Or, it would be, if it were true. It is not. And the New York Times<\/em> headline, \u201cObama Seeks to Raise Awareness of Rape on Campus<\/a>,\u201d printed on the same day as the council\u2019s report was released, can\u2019t turn falsehood into truth. Nevertheless, the task force<\/a> established in the wake of the report will almost certainly validate its findings and act on them.<\/p>\n

The truth: the rate of rape has fallen sharply<\/a> since 1979.<\/p>\n

In March 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice reported,<\/p>\n