SAVE: Affirmative Consent Policies Eliminate the Presumption of Innocence, Critics Charge

Press release here. Excerpt:

'WASHINGTON / July 14, 2015 – Following recent passage of a law in New York on campus sexual assault, Affirmative Consent policies are coming under fire from civil rights and legal experts. The New York law will require that “clear affirmative agreement” be expressed before any sexual activity occurs between two students.

Robert Shibley of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a civil liberties group, notes that Affirmative Consent policies serve to promote a “guilty until proven innocent” mindset.

In her June 27 column, New York Times contributing writer Judith Shulevitz decried the notion of making “sex a crime under conditions of poor communication.” Her article quoted Harvard law professor Jeannie Suk who chided Affirmative consent as an “unworkable standard.”

In her July 1 column, ‘Affirmative Consent’ Will Make Rape Laws Worse, Megan McArdle charges Affirmative Consent will make it more difficult to prosecute an offender because predators can “always insist they got that affirmative consent.'