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But is the new legislation in the US really so radically different from what we have in the UK? Not entirely, says Dr. Tanya Palmer, Lecturer in Law at the University of Sussex."English criminal law already has an affirmative consent standard, and has done for quite some time," Palmer tells me."People often assume it means explicit, verbal consent to every sexual act. But affirmative consent need not mandate verbal consent. All affirmative consent requires is a positive choice to engage in sexual activity and some expression of that choice."Most of us aren't up to date with every clause of the Sexual Offenses Act, however. Things need to change at the level of lived experience. In terms of normalizing the idea of enthusiastic consent—"Yes, I'm up for anal!"; "Yes, you can come on my tits!"—US-style legislation in universities is a possible way forward.What's different about the new US legislation is that it creates a framework for dealing with allegations of broken consent. Palmer says she would love to see similar adopted in Britain.On Noisey: What I Learned From Being a Groupie
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Students I spoke to had mixed reactions at the suggestion of these quasi-judicial investigations being carried out by their university."Universities and student societies are not well-equipped to investigate serious criminal allegations," said Nick Cowen, 30, a student at King's College London. "They should restrict their role to providing sexual health and relationship advice and advising victims of assault on how to engage with qualified authorities, such as the police."What everyone agrees on is that attitudes need to change. Eden Tanner, co-chair of the Oxford University Student Union's It Happens Here Campaign, says that no "consent kit" will ever keep women safe."The only way to do that is to believe and respect survivors, create a culture where sexual violence isn't normalized, and hold perpetrators to account," she says.Sex isn't in some special sphere of life that means we should expect it to be free from mishap. We all make mistakes and do things we regret. There will never be a law that enshrines every possible complexity of a fuck. With or without US-style consent legislation for universities, what will change things is the growing understanding that you should be sure, absolutely sure, the person you're getting it on with really wants to be there. That shouldn't be an unattainable goal.Follow Frankie on Twitter.On MUNCHIES: Sex + Food: Sploshing