I'm honored to be a presenter at tomorrow's
Women's Wave March
to protect abortion rights that will start at 12 noon this Saturday, 10/8 at
Foley Square (50 Centre Street in lower Manhattan.)
We're fortunate in NY State to have protections, and even supports for women
who decide to terminate a pregnancy. But revoking a woman's human right of
"consent" over her bodily autonomy is taking place all around us.
We need to raise our voices in solidarity to turn our human right into a civil
right for everyone, everywhere. Consent is at the intersection of abortion
rights and sexual assault.
Recognizing what "consent" means will aid in prosecuting cases of sex
trafficking, domestic violence, rape, and so much more. Today, thanks to
Roosevelt Island's very own Assembly Member, Rebecca Seawright, we have two bills pending in Albany that will make "consent" a civil right in NY
State.
Whether people can make it to the Women's Wave or not, everyone can help get
the definition for consent codified into law by signing this
petition today.
.... that would, for the first time, define the meaning of consent in the
state of New York’s penal law for sexual assault and all crimes.
Under the Seawright proposal, consent is defined as "freely given,
knowledgeable and informed agreement… obtained without the use of malice
such as forcible compulsion, duress, coercion deception, fraud, concealment,
or artifice."
The measure would replace the current practice at criminal trials of leaving
juries to deliberate over the meaning of consent without any guidance from
the statute. Advocates for victims of sexual assault say the Seawright law,
as proposed, would significantly reduce disparate outcomes in sexual
predator convictions....
Thank you to the survivors and advocates Joyce Short, Tarale Wulff, Dawn Dunning, Bird Milliken, Parents of Chessy Prout, and Krystal Balleza for sharing your truth. #FGKIA
... "The United States Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that a sex
crime is committed every 73 seconds," said Assembly Member Seawright,
who announce her legislation on the National Day of Action of Sexual
Assault Awareness Month. "We must stop this rising trend by clearly
defining consent, thereby empowering our police and prosecutors to take
action."
Joyce Short, the founder of the advocacy group Consent
Awareness Network (CAN) and the author of Your Consent – The Key to
Conquering Sexual Assault, said the measure is the first of its kind in
the nation.
"Defining consent in our laws will consistently hold
sexual predators accountable and conquer sexual assault as well as
laying down the law in other crimes," she said. “Whether consent is
applied to your COVID19 vaccination, placing data on the internet,
revenge porn, sex trafficking or sexual assault, consent is always…
freely given, knowledgeable and informed agreement. New Yorkers
desperately need this law – yesterday!"
Tarale Wulff, a New York
actor and model who helped convict motion picture executive Harvey
Weinstein on rape and criminal sexual assault in March 2020, said,
“Before testifying in the trial of Harvey Weinstein, I didn’t know there
wasn’t a true definition of consent in our laws,” she said. “Weinstein
claimed to be confused, and that he thought most men are
confused…There’s a generation of woke individuals who won’t be silenced.
By clearly defining consent, there will be no confusion.”
Dawn
Dunning, a creative director and model who also testified in the
Weinstein trial, said, "Consent is consent in all things, not only sex.
Applying consent in the general law makes it clear that the same
"consent" that protects your property also protects your body."
The
definition for consent in this legislation conveys the same principles
as those used by Model Penal Code, Nuremberg Code, and General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR.) All three highly regarded and currently
administered codes guide behavior in medical experiments, medical
treatment, statutes that pertain to theft, and the protection of cyber
privacy on the internet, as recognized in international law.
But
states have been slow to adopt definitions for consent. The jurors in
the Weinstein case asked Judge James Burke, "What is the definition for
consent." Judge Burke responded, "Use your commonsense." His response
was almost identical to Judge Steven O'Neill's response several months
earlier in the Bill Cosby trials in Pennsylvania.
Judge O'Neill
had responded to the juries in both the first and second trials, "That
is a question that cannot be answered. You are reasonable people. Use
your commonsense." With no guidance from Judge O'Neill, the initial jury
for Cosby's case could not agree on a verdict. The foreperson for the
second jury, a cyber security expert familiar with the definition of
consent in GDPR, explained this definition to fellow jurors who rendered
a guilty verdict.
"The proper definition of consent in New York's
laws will clarify lawful sexual conduct, guide behavior, and make it
possible to hold sexual predators accountable," said Seawright. "This
vital concept must no longer be left to chance."
Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.
The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.
