Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to bring the "Yes Means Yes" sexual assault policy to all the private colleges and universities in the state of N.Y.
According to the Associated Press, Cuomo proposed the new bill Saturday, which of course is inspired by the bill Calf. passed in late Aug. 2014. Cuomo said the new bill would level "the imbalance of power that women face across the board."
Gov. Jerry Brown passed the first Yes Means Yes bill last summer, requiring schools to adopt a new sexual assault policy that flips the "no means no" adage on its head.
Under California's law, schools have to determine that both parties gave consent clearly in a sexual encounter. The lack of affirmation will not be considered consent. The policy defines consent as anything from a verbal go-ahead to non-verbal cues like a nod or the reciprocation of an advance. Consent can also be retracted at any time during the encounter.
Another key to the policy is that consent cannot be given if either or both participants are intoxicated or unresponsive in any way. With sexual assault being a difficult crime to investigate and adjudicate, especially for university police, Yes Means Yes aims to take the ambiguity out of the investigation process.
"If women make their voice heard on this issue, I guarantee you it will pass. It is that simple," Cuomo said in a statement announcing the bill, according to the AP. "It is right, it is righteous, it is inarguable."
While states like New Hampshire and New Jersey are reportedly interested in making Yes Means Yes a mandated policy at their schools, the support for such a bill is not unanimous. While several groups at Harvard are supporting the policy, a group of the Ivy League institution's law professors are not.
Cuomo said it is time for higher education institutions to stop being afraid of sexual assault happening on their campuses and address the problem at hand.
"No, it's not a private matter," he said. "It's a crime. And the woman is not complicit, she's a victim."
