Alcohol and Sexual Assault

First, we need to look at multiple facts related to sexual assaults in College (and beyond)

The reason that Sexual Assault and Alcohol are in this section together is because they normally go hand-in-hand. About half of all people who were found to have committed a sexual assault were under the influence of alcohol. And about half of individuals who were the victims were under the influence of alcohol. And many sexual assaults occur when either the victim or the perpetrator are under the influence of alcohol (not both at the same time).

I watched a seminar given by the Lancaster County District Attorney's office recently. In that seminar, a Prosecutor stated this:

"Would-be offenders can actually use alcohol as a weapon to make victims more compliant or vulnerable. They might not think what they are doing is a crime; they think of this as hooking-up. However, the planned use of alcohol to ensure that a person will engage in sexual conduct has been documented in several studies."

Lisak and Miller, Repeat Rape and Multiple Offending Among Undetected Rapists, Violence and Victims, Vol. 17, No. 1 (2002).

Abbey, A., Alcohol-Related Sexual Assault: A Common Problem Among College Students; Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Supplement 14: 118-128 (2002).

What is consent?

Sexual activity requires consent, which is defined as voluntary, positive agreement between the participants to engage in specific sexual activity.

Several of you have already seen this video (again, probably during orientation)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD2EooMhqRI

She provides excellent examples of consent. For a more "traditional" way (without all of the sound effects) of communicating what consent is, please read the following:

Communicating consent:

Consent to sexual activity can be communicated in a variety of ways, but one should presume that consent has not been given in the absence of clear, positive agreement.
While verbal consent is not an absolute requirement for consensual sexual activity, verbal communication prior to engaging in sex helps to clarify consent. Communicating verbally before engaging in sexual activity is imperative. However potentially awkward it may seem, talking about your own and your partner's sexual desires, needs, and limitations provide a basis for a positive experience.
Consent must be clear and unambiguous for each participant at every stage of a sexual encounter. The absence of "no" should not be understood to mean there is consent.
A prior relationship does not indicate consent to future activity.

But the tricky part comes when alcohol is involved.

In most states, consent cannot be given if a person is under the influence of alcohol. Therefore, one needs to "proceed at one's own risk" if he/she plans to have a sexual encounter with someone who has been drinking and their judgment is considered impaired by the Pennsylvania Court system.

When it comes to Consent, California has really taken a major step in the right direction:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/09/29/352482932/california-enacts-yes-means-yes-law-defining-sexual-consent

And other states are following: http://affirmativeconsent.com/affirmative-consent-laws-state-by-state/

Other Legal Issues

Sexting and the like

Do you know of anyone who has provided a picture of him/herself in some state of nudity to another person?

We have heard about celebrities who have done this.

If a person has any picture of a minor (not an adult) in some state of nudity, he/she can be prosecuted under Megan's Law if discovered.

However, if the person is an adult, consent becomes an issue because according to PA State Act 115 of 2014 – Unlawful Dissemination of an Intimate Image, consent is necessary to share (disseminate) that picture to others. This law criminalizes the dissemination of a visual depiction (photo, video, film, computer image) of a victim in a state of nudity or engaged in sexual conduct. The victim in this case could be a a current or prior sexual or intimate partner of the defendant, but there must be an intent to harass, annoy or alarm the victim.

Prosecutors will inform an individual that if a person consents to dissemination of (share) the video/picture with others, that can be used as a defense.

Therefore, if you know of anyone who participates in this type of behavior, they really need to be aware of who they give consent to see those photos.

Posts on Social Networking sites

Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld a Defendant's conviction for harassment (in 2013) for posting mean-spirited posts about another individual that communicates to or about such other person any lewd, lascivious, threatening or obscene words, language drawings or caricatures.

Therefore, postings on social networks open the "poster" up to criminal liability if the content meets the parameters of any existing criminal statute regardless of whether the statute was written to deal with crimes occurring by use of advanced technology.