Harvard affiliates were the subject of email death threats on Friday. Photo Credit: safrin.blogs.unhas.ac.id –
Three Harvard groups are petitioning for their school to adopt an “affirmative consent” policy based on a California model that requires “affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity.”
Under the California law, also known as the “Yes Means Yes” bill, silence does not equal consent. It applies to all California secondary schools that receives state money for financial aid.
Now, Harvard groups Our Harvard Can Do Better, Graduate Students Advocating for Gender Equality and Harvard Students Demand Respect are advocating for the school to incorporate a definition of affirmative consent into its sexual harassment policy to help ensure “a safe and respectful campus climate.”
According to The Huffington Post, more than 800 colleges have adopted affirmative consent policies, including every Ivy League school except for Harvard.
