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Originally posted by kpo:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-echochambers-29546959

An interesting development, that's stirring quite a lot of debate. I'm interested to see how these new laws affect the problem. Some critics are saying that innocent people will be penalised by it; I'm not so sure, and I'm kind of of the opinion that the problem is so widespread that something needs to be tried.

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The scope of the California law is limited. It's not a criminal statute, and it won't be sending anyone to jail. It only applies to university campuses and students. Its detractors are probably crediting it with more power for social change than it actually has.

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Originally posted by kpo:
I think with BDSM the establishment of a safe word beforehand surely covers consent.

This is another good article on the new consent laws: http://www.vox.com/2014/10/10/6952227/rape-culture-is-a-tax-on-women-C
A-yes-means-yes-dierks-katz

It makes this important point:

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The scope of the California law is limited. It's not a criminal statute, and it won't be sending anyone to jail. It only applies to university campuses and students. Its detractors are probably crediting it with more power for social change than it actually has.

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I'm not completely sure about the law, I can see reasons why it might work, reasons why it might not achieve anything, and reasons why it could be a calamitous mess. I think the best way to view it is as an experiment, that may or may not succeed, and is being tested out in an arena where sexual assault is a serious problem, and trying out solutions is no bad thing, even if they fail.

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