What Are Affirmative Consent Policies on Ohio College Campuses?

Affirmative consent – or “yes means yes” – is a policy enforced on college campuses that warrants each student in a sexual encounter to give and receive objective and clear consent throughout.

The consent must be given with a sound mind, meaning being coerced or incapacitated prevents a person from giving consent. Affirmative consent also mandates that the consent is ongoing, meaning that if one party consents early on but later wants to stop, the encounter must immediately cease. Alternatively, if one person moves too fast and doesn’t give the other a chance to voice an objection, that can qualify as non-consensual.

History of Affirmative Consent

Despite only becoming popularized in recent years, affirmative consent can be traced back to 1991. Antioch College in Ohio instituted an “Ask First” policy requiring students to receive stated consent before initiating sexual contact. While this was considered outrageous at the time and was even publicly ridiculed on SNL, it gained increased adoption over the years and has become the standard rule across college campuses since 2014, albeit with some slight differences between campuses. While Antioch College’s policy required the consent be verbalized, the college policies today don’t. Instead, only demonstrated consent is needed, meaning either explicit words or actions qualify.

This shift is partly due to the #MeToo movement and a growing awareness of the prevailing issue of sexual assault on college campuses. Approximately 26.4 percent of undergraduate women and 6.8 percent of undergraduate men are sexually assaulted. Freshman are especially vulnerable in their first few months before Thanksgiving, when – according to a 2007 survey – more than 50 percent of sexual assault cases occur.

This is a more pernicious problem than many people realize, including on prestigious campuses like the top 27 colleges in the country. 

Is Affirmative Consent Effective?

The goal of affirmative consent is to educate and inform college students while providing victims with tools to solidify their cases. Not all sexual misconduct cases are the result of malice. Young people who have only learned romance through movies and TV may be misguided about what consent looks like. Media can sometimes construe sex into a “Yes until No” matter while affirmative consent grounds the matter into a “No until Yes” narrative.

Unfortunately, affirmative consent doesn’t offer much protection from concerted sexual violence perpetrated by predators who aren’t concerned with obtaining consent. Still, the lack of explicit consent is a violation of school policy that can be used as evidence to strengthen a victim’s case to the school board as well as in a criminal case. They can also utilize the breach of school policy in a civil case to seek compensation.

Affirmative consent shifts the burden of proof in a case from the victim to the accused, who must show they received explicit consent. This helps take the emotional burden of building a case off the victims’ shoulders. Retaliation against the victim for reporting is also prohibited under these policies.

Critics argue that these policies are ripe to be taken advantage of, allowing plaintiffs to accuse innocent parties of misconduct in bad faith without having to supply proof, elevating the risk of undeserved punitive actions including civil and even criminal consequences.

These policies also may not alleviate all confusion regarding consent. For example, if both students are intoxicated, does it still count as non-consensual? Ultimately, it depends on a case-by-case basis, which overarching school policies may not be able to account for – but many argue the system is better than no administrative protection for sexual assault victims, which was the case for many years.

Is Affirmative Consent Legally Mandated in Ohio?

No. Some states, including California and Colorado, passed a law that made affirmative consent a legal obligation on college campuses, but Ohio isn’t one of them. While the state encourages colleges to adopt these policies, they aren’t required to. This means that violating these policies won’t always lead to criminal charges, although offenses can still lead to suspension and potentially expulsion.

Affirmative Consent and Criminal Prosecution Won’t Give You Financial Restitution, But Our Sexual Assault Injury Attorneys Will Fight for the Compensation You Deserve

Even in ideal cases where affirmative consent policies provide swift justice, the consequences for the perpetrator are typically always punitive – not restorative. Colleges may help victims get access to mental health resources, but they won’t help victims pay for their resultant medical bills or lost wages.

At the Buckeye Law Group, we believe that victims shouldn’t have to pay for the physical and emotional toll of sexual assault. Our dedicated sexual assault lawyers have helped hundreds of victims file civil lawsuits and receive fair compensation. We will work hard to maximize your compensation, pursuing reimbursement from the perpetrator and even your college as a liable third party if they were negligent in providing adequate protection.

Call 800-411-PAIN or complete our contact form for a free, no-obligation case consultation today.