Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["S. Daniel Carter" <>]

on 9/3/04 12:13 PM, Mike Domitrz (author & speaker) at 

wrote:

> Kobe Bryant stated, "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was
> consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident
> the same way I did."  Consent is based on both people consenting together.
> Bryant cannot have consent if she didn't give him consent.

This goes to the heart of a question that we've been exploring, what level
of punishment is our society willing to impose in a situation where the
victim doesn't give consent, but there is a legitimate question as to
whether or not the assailant believed they had consent. I heard Jeffrey
Toobin on CNN yesterday saying that because he believed he did have consent
this case had no place in criminal court. This doesn't seem too far from
what many in our culture seem to believe, and nobody seemed to challenge
him.

The defense that the assailant believed they had consent, whether or not
this is true or not, seems to be compelling to many juries. In just the last
few weeks we've observed several criminal campus acquaintance rape trials
result in acquittals on these grounds. It seems this may be due to a
combination of laws, and public perceptions. Some laws on the books still
seem to be based more on signs of force and resistance than consent, and
many in our society don't seem to be willing to hold assailants accountable
for not making sure they had consent.

********************************
S. Daniel Carter
Senior Vice President
Security On Campus, Inc.
http://www.securityoncampus.org/
e-mail: