"She didn't say no, so that means she wanted it," "She said yes." These are just a few of the things you see guys say when it comes to consent for having any sexual acts with a female. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, for every 1,000 female students who attend college or a university, there are 35 incidents of rape each academic year. That's sad. And not all of them are reported to authorities. Not all of the sexual assaults occur on campus, most are done off campus.
Almost all of sexual assaults happen between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m, and either alcohol or drugs are consumed by either the victim or the person doing the assault. "In one study, one in 20 (4.7%) women reported being raped in college since the beginning of the year – a period of approximately 7 months – and nearly three quarters of those rapes (72%) happened with the victims were so intoxicated they were unable to consent or refuse." (NSVRC). Consent. Consent by definition is giving permission to do something or for something to happen. When a female gives consent, she says YES. If she says yes at one period of time, but changes her answer to no, she's not giving you consent. NO means NO. On YouTube, there is a video from Blue Seat Studios, that talks about consent in the forms of offering someone tea, tea being consent. This is a great video explaining consent because it shows the different scenarios that can be related back to sex, or any other sexual activities.
Now, I'm not just talking about this topic because I ran out of ideas. I'm writing this article to inform everyone about how wrong, and traumatizing sexual assault can be. I myself have never been a victim, but in recent news, you may have seen or heard about the Stanford University top swimmer convicted on three counts of sexual assault. Brock Turner was sentenced to six months in county jail and probation for sexually assaulting an unconscious women behind a dumpster. Key word, UNCONSCIOUS. The victim attended a party with her sister, that Turner was also at. She only remembers going to the party, and waking up the next morning in the hospital, because she had had too much alcohol the night before. On the night of the assault, Turner was found on top of the victim, who was not moving or alert, behind a dumpster by two students who had been riding bikes close by. The victim was found half naked, underwear down past her boots, and her bra out of her shirt. When the assault was officially reported, Turner said that the victim liked it. How could someone like those acts when they were unconscious. He said she liked it because after the attack, she rubbed his back.
All I have to say is, how? How can you say all of these horrible things, when you know she was not responding? Turner could have faced 14 years in prison for his actions, but the judge believed that that sentence would have a severe impact on him, and that he's not a harm to other people. He not only got the sentence, but lost the life he wanted as a swimmer. According to his dad, his "20 minutes of action should not send him to jail". Whether it was 20 mins, an hour, or one minute, he should be held accountable for his actions, and now he isn't even getting the punishment he deserves. What he did was wrong. What he did had a severe impact on the girl he assaulted.
I could go on and on about this case, and share my opinion about Brock Turner, but I won't. My goal for this article was to keep pushing the topic of sexual assault and rape. Consent is the most important factor of any sexual contact with anyone, male or female. If someone says no, THEY MEAN NO! The next time you engage in any sexual activity, make sure you and your partner are both on the same page. Ask for consent, and think before you act.
