Video by Zoe Peterson and Karla Dougan.
By ANEESA CONINE-NAKANO – Digital Managing Editor
In light of the recent alleged sexual assaults in Clarke County School District, Digital Managing Editor Aneesa Conine-Nakano discusses sexual consent and why it needs to be emphasized in schools.
A woman wearing a short skirt is raped by a man. Who is responsible?
Some of my peers would say the woman.
This is a situation I encountered in my advisement one week when two boys and I decided to take a ‘Are you feminist or sexist?’ quiz .
Immediately, I asked why the girl would be at fault. He responded, “Why else would she wear a short skirt?”
This story shows how ill-informed students are about consent.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, consent is “to give permission for something to happen or be done.” Though this may seem like a simple concept, when the idea of consent comes up in sexual assaults, it becomes misconstrued.
Consent isn’t wearing revealing outfits. It isn’t agreeing to sex under the influence. It isn’t implied. It is explicitly told. If students are taught this now, it can prevent terrible incidents from happening.
In light of the recent alleged rape at Cedar Shoals High School and the alleged assault at Clarke Central High School, this needs to be a priority of the district and the schools.
This will undoubtedly be a lengthy process. In order for consent to officially become a part of the health curriculum standards, it will have to passed through the state.
However, there are other ways the school can educate students. At the very least, we should have yearly speakers and assemblies, not only about consent, but about school safety in general.
Without acknowledgement of the problem, how are students supposed to feel safe?
I cannot, especially when I know my classmates believe clothing can determine whether a person wants to have sex.
As our school district attempts to heal from these incidents, I hope they can learn that nothing will change if we move on without looking at the idea of rape culture. An email notifying parents about the event occurring isn’t enough. Students need to be informed about not only the events, but the bigger issue at hand. Otherwise, we cannot be surprised when another incident happens.
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