The Affirmative “Yes”. Sexual Offense Based on Consent

Authors

  • Ana Vidu Afloarei University of Deusto
  • Gema Tomás Martínez University of Deusto

https://doi.org/10.17583/mcs.2019.3779

Keywords:


Downloads

Abstract

The collective rape case that occurred in Spain during a 2016 famous festival placed the trial against its five aggressors on an unprecedented media and social scale in Spain. The court that ruled for sexual abuse and not for rape sparked a huge and prompt social rejection of the current legislation. To overcome revictimization and give voice to survivors, the consideration of consent has been raised. This new paradigm has deeply spread in society and social networks to the point that the Spanish government has expressed its interest in modifying the Criminal Code to base sexual crimes on consent. In our duty to provide scientific knowledge for this issue, this article frames the debate on sexual harassment and focuses on the crime against sexual freedom and the context under which consent can neither be asked for nor conceived. This article analyzes the aggravating crime factors while basing consent on the intention of the offender. Starting from international approaches, this article emphasizes the current social opportunity needed to create awareness and transform laws with the aim of legislating on affirmative “yes”. This approach contributes to the challenge of overcoming gender violence and to the study of masculinities and their influence on social transformation.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Ana Vidu Afloarei, University of Deusto

Postdoctoral researcher. Deusto Law School

Gema Tomás Martínez, University of Deusto

Civil Law Professor. Deusto Law School

References

Abraham, M. (2015). Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk: Linking Research and Action on Domestic Violence. In S. K. White, J. White & K. O. Korgen (Eds.), Sociologists in Action on Inequalities: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality (pp. 208). California Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Google Scholar Crossref

Armstrong, E., & Hamilton, L. (2013). Paying for the Party. How college maintains inequality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Beck-Gernsheim, E., Butler, J. & Puigvert, L. (2001). Mujeres y transformaciones sociales. Barcelona: Hipatia.

Google Scholar Crossref

Benson, D. J., & Thomson, G. E. (1979). Sex, Gender and Power: Sexual Harassment on a University Campus. Working draft.

Google Scholar Crossref

Benson, D. J., & Thomson, G. E. (1982). Sexual Harassment on a University Campus: the confluence of authority relations, sexual interest and gender stratification. Social Problems, 29(3), 236–251. doi: 10.2307/800157

Google Scholar Crossref

Bird, E. (2002). The Academic Arm of the Women’s Liberation Movement Women's Studies 1969 – 1999 in North America and the United Kingdom. Women’s Studies International Forum, 25(1), 139–149. doi: 10.1016/S0277-5395(02)00217-0

Google Scholar Crossref

Burawoy, M. (2005). For Public Sociology. American Sociological Review, 70(1), 4–28. doi: 10.1177/000312240507000102

Google Scholar Crossref

Burn, S. M. (2008). A Situational Model of Sexual Assault Prevention through Bystander Intervention. Sex Roles, 60(11-12), 779–792. doi: 10.1007/s11199-008-9581-5

Google Scholar Crossref

Bursik, K., & Gefter, J. (2011). Still stable after all these years: perceptions of sexual harassment in academic contexts. The Journal of Social Psychology, 151(3), 331–49. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21675185

Google Scholar Crossref

Cantalupo, N. C. (2012). “Decriminalizing” Campus Institutional Responses to Peer Sexual Violence. Journal of College and University Law, 38, 481–524. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?

Google Scholar Crossref

handle=hein.journals/jcolunly38&div=20&id=&page=

Google Scholar Crossref

Connell, R. W. (1987). Gender and Power Society, the Person, and Sexual Politics. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Connell, R. (2012). Masculinity Research and Global Change. Masculinities and Social Change, 1(1), 4-18. doi: 10.4471/MCS.2012.01

Google Scholar Crossref

CNBC. (2017). “One-fifth of American adults have experienced sexual harassment at work, CNBC survey says”. CNBC Special Report. Journal article, Tuesday 19, 2018. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/19/one-fifth-of-american-adults-have-been-sexually-harassed-at-work.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Foley, A., Powell-Williams, T., & Davies, K. (2015). Engaging Boys in Eradicating Gender-based Violence: A Pilot Study of a Promundo-adapted Program. Masculinities and Social Change, 4(1), 26-43. doi: 10.4471/MCS.2015.59

Google Scholar Crossref

Fox-Penner, E., Fournier, J., Mayopoulos, G., & Goffard, S. (2014). Defining Affirmative Consent. Harvard Political Review, September 11, 2014. Retrieved from http://harvardpolitics.com/harvard/defining-affirmative-consent/

Google Scholar Crossref

Freedman, E. (2013). Redefining Rape: Sexual Violence in the Era of Suffrage and Segregation. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Habermas, J. (1987). The theory of communicative action. V. 2. Lifeworld and system: A critique of functionalist reason. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Hörnle, T. (2016). The New German Law on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment. German Law Journal, 18(6), 1310-1330. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56330ad3e4b0733dcc0c8495/t/5a088d3df9619a1bb00aedd7/1510509886909/01_Vol_18_No_06A_Hoernle.pdf

Google Scholar Crossref

Marx, K. (1867: 2008). El capital. Volume 1. Editorial: Editors.

Google Scholar Crossref

McMahon, P. P. (2008). Sexual violence on the college campus: a template for compliance with federal policy. Journal of American

Google Scholar Crossref

College Health, 57(3), 361–366. doi: 10.3200/JACH.57.3.361-366

Google Scholar Crossref

Mellins, C., Walsh, K., Sarvet, A., Wall, M., Gilbert, L., Santelli, J. S., Thompson, M., Wilson, P., Khan, S., Benson, S., Bah, K., Kaufman, K.,

Google Scholar Crossref

Reardon, L., & Hirsch, J. (2017). Sexual assault incidents among college undergraduates: Prevalence and factors associated with risk. Plos One, 12(11). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186471

Google Scholar Crossref

Merton, R. (1965). On the shoulders of giants. New York: New York: Free Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Muehlenhard, C. L., Humphreys, T. P., Jozkowski, K. N., & Peterson, Z. D. (2016). The Complexities of Sexual Consent Among College Students: A Conceptual and Empirical Review. The Journal of Sex Research, 53(4-5), 457-487. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2016.1146651

Google Scholar Crossref

Neill, U. S. (2017). When Scientists Say, “Me, Too”. Scientific American, 18 October 2017. Retrieved from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/when-scientists-say-me-too/

Google Scholar Crossref

Pérez Hernández, Y. (2016). Consentimiento sexual: un análisis con perspectiva de género. Revista Mexicana de Sociología, 78(4), 741-767. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?pid=S0188-2503201600040074 1&script=sci_arttext&tlng=pt

Google Scholar Crossref

Puigvert, L. (2008). Breaking the Silence: The Struggle against Gender Violence in Universities. International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 1(1), 1–6. Retrieved from http://www.freireproject.org/the-international-journal-of-critical-pedagogy/ijcp-v01-n01/

Google Scholar Crossref

Rios-Gonzalez, O., Peña Axt, J. C., Duque Sanchez, E., & De Botton, L. (2018). The language of ethics and double standards in the affective and sexual socialization of youth. Communicative acts in the family environment as protective or risk factors of intimate partner violence. Frontiers in Sociology, 3(19). doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2018.00019

Google Scholar Crossref

Searle, J., & Soler, M. (2004). Lenguaje y Ciencias Sociales. Diálogo entre John Searle y CREA. Barcelona: Hipatia Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Schubert, T. (2015). Universities Free of Gender Violence. Communicative Acts among the University Community that Overcome Gender Violence in Spanish Universities. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Barcelona.

Google Scholar Crossref

Valls, R., Puigvert, L., Melgar, P., & Garcia-Yeste, C. (2016). Breaking the Silence at Spanish Universities. Findings from the First Study of Violence against Women on Campuses in Spain. Violence against Women, 22(13), 1519-1539. doi: 10.1177/1077801215627511

Google Scholar Crossref

Ventura, I. (2017). They never talk about a victim’s feelings: according to criminal law, feelings are not facts—Portuguese judicial narratives about sex crimes. Palgrave Communications, 2(16101), 1-9. doi: 10.1057/palcomms.2016.101

Google Scholar Crossref

Volkov, V. (2018). The Sociology of Law as Public Sociology: How Can Empirical Research Enhance Justice. Oral Presentation, XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology. Toronto, Canada, July 15-21.

Google Scholar Crossref

Weber, M. (2012: 1904). El ética protestante y el espíritu del capitalismo. Alianza Editorial.

Google Scholar Crossref

WHO. 2017. Violence against women. Intimate partner and sexual violence against women. Fact sheet, November 2017. Media Centre.

Google Scholar Crossref

World Health Organization. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women

Google Scholar Crossref

Downloads

Published

2019-02-21

Almetric

Dimensions

How to Cite

Vidu Afloarei, A., & Tomás Martínez, G. (2019). The Affirmative “Yes”. Sexual Offense Based on Consent. Masculinities &Amp; Social Change, 8(1), 91–112. https://doi.org/10.17583/mcs.2019.3779

Issue

Section

Articles