No means no. Simple as that. There are no hidden messages, no sneaky intents. Plain and easy, no. The response "no" applies to many situations. "No, I don't want pepperoni on my pizza", "No, I've never heard of Luke Bryan that hot country singer". The most significant situation the word "no" applies to is when asking for consent.
The definition of consent is permission for something to happen or agreement to do something . Consent is firm and final. When you hear the word "no", that means no. No ifs, and's, or buts.
In today's society, the word "no" seems to get a little twisted; specifically in college campuses. The amount of times the word no has been used and the action continued is ridiculous. Statistics cannot be ignored. More than one in five college women will become victims of sexual assault (Association of American Universities). One in five. Let's think about that. Out of your friend group of five, one of you will become a victim of sexual assault. That is the statistic. Isn't that terrifying?
Males and females tend to have differing views on consent. It should be clear, right? One study found that 61 percent of men say they rely on nonverbal cues-body language- to indicate if a woman is consenting to a sexual act while only 10 percent of women say they actually give consent via body language (Association of American Universities). 61 and 10 have huge number differences and that shouldn't be like that.
This is happening on college campuses every day. Consent should be taught and lectured. For example, from the Washington Post, the Association of American Universities did another survey where they questioned females on whether or not they had been sexually assaulted while being an undergraduate. At the University of Texas, it was 19 percent. From the Univeristy of Virginia, 24 percent. At the University of Michigan, 30 percent of undergraduate females said they had been sexually assaulted. These numbers should not be as high as they are.
So, what can you do about this? Learn consent. Learn what consent means and when to recognize it. Consent is not always verbal, it can be physical as well. Do not take a chance when it comes to consent and the word "no". If there is even a thought in your mind about whether you are doing the right thing, don't push it.
Meghan Trainor recently came out with a popular pop song about saying no and I'm writing this to tell you that saying "no" is okay. It's okay not to give the guy at the bar your number and it's okay to say "no" when he asks you to come back to his apartment. It's okay.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault; reach out. Call 800.656.HOPE (4673) for help in your area.
