Connecticut Mirror
7.22.15 | Alban Murtishi
Co-sponsors of a bill that would require all Connecticut colleges and universities to adopt an affirmative-consent policy for sexual assault investigations say they will reintroduce the legislation next year.
The bill died at the end of the last legislative session after it failed to come to a vote in the House of Representatives.
The bill received overwhelming Senate approval but was introduced to the House late in the session, losing crucial discussion time that would have clarified its purpose to members not familiar with affirmative-consent, its sponsors said.
An affirmative-consent policy, often referred to as a "yes means yes" standard, would change the way schools investigate sexual assault complaints by shifting the burden of proof to the accused to show the sexual activity was consensual. Many schools, including the University of Connecticut and Yale University, already have done so.
Rep. Gregg Haddad, D-Mansfield, who co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly, said legislators needed more time to understand this shift. The University of Connecticut's main campus in Storrs is in their legislative districts.
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