The state of sexual encounters on campus has become so problematic that a mobile app might be a student’s best bet in avoiding assault accusations.
YES to SEX is an app which allows students to record their consent, but higher education experts are still unsure if it will do much to help, The Washington Times reported.
The app has been updated to include “YES to SEX EDU,” which allows colleges and universities to customize the app to fit campus needs.
A description of the consent process might be necessary with today’s campus climate, but not all that romantic. After a few informative slides about age of consent, definitions of consent, and venereal disease, the app prompts users to audibly record their willingness to have sex,” The Washington Post wrote. “Users must also consent to what contraception will be used in the encounter and are given a safe word should one party wish to withdraw consent.”
The recording, date, time, and location of the sexual encounter is encrypted and stored on a secured server. If need be, it can be retrieved by a court order. The decision to record the audible consent came out of privacy concerns. App creator Wendy Mandell-Geller assured that they “take absolutely no information, no social media information, no emails, phone numbers — there’s no sign-up.”
Mandell-Geller explained that the process “can be completed within 25 seconds, so it doesn’t spoil the mood.” She referred to it as “just like a little thoughtful reminder — think about each other, make sure you’re both happy before you proceed, and remember to continue to ask for consent as you go along.”
The app description issues an additional note on that last point. “Please do not click the submit button until you have completed your sexual activity together, as this allows partners with a quick click of the top bar to record an additional verbal change of mind, if the situation changes.”
The idea of continuous affirmative consent, for every step of the process, is aligned with policies at universities, including those in the University of California system.
Spoiling the mood isn’t the only concern.
E. Everett Bartlett, president of the Center for Prosecutor Integrity, called the app “a well-intentioned but futile attempt to stop campus sexual assault.”
He explained that “affirmative consent requires both persons to give consent for each ‘specific’ sexual activity,” and that a party can later claim her agreement only applied to certain parts of the encounter.
Cynthia P. Garrett, advocacy chair and board member for Families Advocating for Campus Equality, said the app won’t meet campus regulations unless it “tracks each step of the sexual encounter and documents ongoing affirmative consent.”
Stuart Taylor Jr., a Brookings Institution senior nonresident fellow, emphasized that while the app is a good development, it shouldn’t need to be.
Where “colleges … punish people who didn’t do anything wrong … this is one way that people could try to protect themselves,” he said.
