In the scramble for colleges and universities to stem the tide of sexual violence that has come onto their campuses, California has become the first in the nation to enact a "yes means yes" standard into law. On September 28, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation that requires colleges and universities receiving state funds to adopt sexual assault policies that include affirmative consent as the key element in determining whether sexual activity was consensual.
Just what is affirmative consent? What will count as a yes? It's hard to say. It seems obvious, but the parameters of affirmative consent are illusive and hard to define. Even the Department of Education, which has been so aggressive in imposing onerous Title IX requirements on colleges and universities, has been resistive to defining affirmative consent. It is all a little reminiscent of Justice Stewart's standard for pornography: "I know it when I see it."
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2014/10/23/campuses-must-wrestle-affirmative-consent-standard-sexual-assault-essay