If you’re a student on any Connecticut campus and you want to kiss another student, before you lean in further, you’d better have heard an unequivocal “yes” from the lips where you hope to land your kiss.
On July 1, 2016, Connecticut became an Affirmative Consent State. This means that on every campus throughout our state, “no” or some interpretation of “no” isn’t enough. It’s “yes” or nothing.
Photo by Taylor Lauren Barker
Attorney Matthew Maddox of New Canaan
We’re not talking about what seems like a “yes”, either. It has to be audible and verbal. And this also means that every escalation of amorous activity between two students requires another “yes” every step of the way.
Parents and families of students can’t be squeamish about this topic. We need to talk about it.
Disciplinary review boards throughout our State will be scrutinizing allegations of sexual assault based upon this new standard. Intoxication by one or both students involved in a sexual controversy will mean almost automatically that an alleged victim couldn’t have consented, and the alleged perpetrator is an unreliable witness.
Understand that these are rules and concepts that apply only on campus. Connecticut General Statutes have their own specific framework and of course their own legal burdens. But federal law Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments, which protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance, doesn’t mandate that a student report an alleged assault to police. Title IX permits a student to manage a sexual controversy within a campus and a particular school’s internal policies.
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Matthew Maddox will be talking about “Campus Relationships and Affirmative Consent” from 7 to 8 p.m., Feb. 9 at the DiMenna-Nyselius Library at Fairfield University, including the affirmative consent law and respect in relationships and how we can model this for our upcoming generations.
The event is sponsored by The Maddox Law Firm and Informed Ascent, LLC, not by Fairfield University. Please RSVP by e-mailing MaddoxTeam@mmaddoxlaw.com.
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It seems inevitable that affirmative consent will spawn intense and widespread litigation both on and off campus.
Before you, as a student, or you as the parent, bypass the conversation, screw down your courage and start talking. About relationships and integrity. About character and privacy. The “yes” litigation and disciplinary proceedings will follow regardless, but our social dialogue will dramatically diminish its intensity and frequency.
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Attorney Matthew Maddox has offices in New Canaan. His blog appears on his law firm website and is available by email.
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