Capital New York
2.25.15 | Jessica Bakeman
ALBANY—An attorney who has successfully challenged Ivy League universities’ handling of alleged sexual assaults has vowed to sue SUNY if the university system adjudicates such incidents using a recently adopted "affirmative consent" standard.
Governor Andrew Cuomo pushed SUNY to adopt the new, more comprehensive definition of sexual consent and has proposed extending the standard to private colleges. During the Legislature's preliminary debate of the policy, conservative Republicans have raised questions about the practicality and fairness of the standard, which requires partners to affirmatively and continuously consent throughout a sexual act.
But Boston-based attorney and law professor Wendy Murphy argues that the problem with the new standard is that it doesn't go far enough to protect women.
Applying affirmative consent to the adjudication of alleged sexual assaults actually lowers the standard of protection victims are entitled to under Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education, says Murphy, who specializes in violence against women and children. Her position makes her a rarity among victim advocates, most of whom laud the “yes means yes” definition of consent.
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