UConsent is the UC-wide campaign against sexual assault, which aims to promote a culture of consent through awareness, education, and advocacy for improved resources at both the campus and state levels.
Sexual violence on college campuses is a silent, stigmatized epidemic, and no university is exempt, including the University of California. With 233,000 students enrolled in the UC, roughly 26,830 students will experience sexual violence during their academic career, most of whom will not report or speak of their assault.
The subject of sexual violence and sexual assault on UC campuses is one of national importance. Complaints filed by students resulted in a federal investigation of UC Berkeley and other campuses, a state audit of how the University of California and California State University handle sexual assault allegations, and a new state law requiring explicit consent from both participants in sexual activity occurring on all campuses where public financial aid is used.
While UC President Napolitano formed a Task Force that issued several recommendations to address this issue, students consider this a start, but more can, and should be done.
Students initiated the University of California Student Association’s UConsent Campaign in order to protect the basic right to expect that students feel safe from sexual violence on campus, and that a culture of consent is not just supported, but enforced. UCSA is urging the UC Office of the President to implement mandatory in-person peer consent and bystander intervention training for faculty, staff and students at all UCs.
Our original demands for the University of California Office of the President:
- Mandate in-person consent and bystander intervention training and education for all students, faculty and staff.
- Allocate a minimum of $420,000 per year for this training program. This is roughly 96 cents per person trained.
- Designate survivor informed students as training leaders.
- Provide stipends and/or class credit to trainers; all trainers should receive compensation.
Students look to President Napolitano to actively invest in survivors and trust the power and effectiveness of peer education and student leadership.
Our victories so far:
Victories
- Passage of SB 697 (DeLeon) Affirmative Consent in 2014 which upholds a standard of “Yes” means “Yes” and supports prevention measures
- UC Office of the President’s Task Force on Sexual Assault announced July 2015 that mandatory in-person training WILL be implemented for undergraduate and graduate students, and recommended (but not mandated) for faculty and staff
- Passage of AB 695 (DeLeon) Sexual Violence Training Measure in 2015 that transforms high school curricula to educate adolescents on sexual assault prevention
