Canadian students get behind ‘yes means yes’

REGINA – Canadian students are taking note of a new law in California: universities in the state will be addressing reports of sexual assault differently.

The affirmative consent or ‘Yes means Yes’ law more specifically defines what it means to give consent.

“It’s come up a lot recently; it’s been in the media a lot. We did have a university student assaulted in the spring downtown here in Regina,” said Jill Arnott, the University of Regina Women’s Centre executive director.

That’s why people on campus at the U of R – and on campuses across Canada are taking note of the ‘Yes means Yes’ campaign.

“It’s setting up a model for a statewide policy in California and potentially a nationwide policy in Canada,” said Bilan Arte, the Canadian Federation of Students deputy chairperson.

Canadian laws already outline what is referred to as “enthusiastic” or “affirmative consent,” but the Canadian Federation for Students, which already promotes the ‘No means No’ campaign is getting behind ‘Yes means Yes’.

“There’s a lot of verbal and non-verbal ways that consent can be taken away, but also that consent can be shown,” Arte explained.

She added, “94 per cent of sexual assaults that happen go completely unreported. With having a nationwide policy around consent, we’re hoping that that’s going to open up discussions on university campuses.”

The U of R administration said it’s aware of the campaign as well and looking to see what the impact will be in California.

“We’re always looking at how we manage individual complaints within the university and making sure we’re responding appropriately,” said Ian MacAusland-Berg, the U of R coordinator of harassment, discrimination prevention and conflict resolution services.

Consent is a complicated topic that’s difficult to discuss on social media. University activists want that talk to happen face-to-face, such as in peer groups and among friends, and believe it’s something couples should discuss among themselves.