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We-ConsentTM App: Background
Enforcement of the new standard of “Only Yes Means Yes” is too important to leave to the
vagaries of he said/she said. The We-Consent™ App is a simple app that records an
approximately 20-second video consisting of four brief segments of two people stating
their affirmative consent to physical interaction. That recording is kept private, encrypted
in the cloud, and inaccessible without a legal petition. (If either user says “no” or does
not unequivocally say “yes” or does not appear as a human face, the app destroys the
video). The app therefore does not document sexual conduct—it documents consent.
More important than the actual documentation of consent is the conversation trigger that
the opportunity for documentation provides when the We-Consent™ App is present on one
or both prospective partners’ phones. When the prospective partners decide whether or
not to run the app – regardless of the app's use, any consideration of running this app will
have already begun a conversation about consent itself. Triggering such discussions is the
main goal of the We-Consent™ App.
Direct discussions between prospective partners would go a long way towards ameliorating
the context and cultural environment that seems to afford opportunities for acquaintance
assault. As noted in a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article:
On campuses, over 90 percent of the perpetrators are acquaintances. Most
women are oriented and trained and socialized to fear the stereotypical
stranger rape and to avoid the underground parking garage or walking home
alone at night across campus. That doesn’t protect them from far-more-
common threats. We’re trying to help women work through the complex
emotional obstacles to recognizing cues in the men they might like or at least
know. With acquaintances, women are much more likely to use methods like
reasoning or pleading or crying, and we know those are ineffective.
http://chronicle.com/article/Sex-Assault-Prevention-Program/230861
A record of consent is an increasingly valuable part of modern life. For example, some
bases staffed by the United States military have required service personnel to sign consent
cards if they were going to engage in fraternization.
Governing bodies, international newspapers and magazines, websites, and
broadcast media devote daily discussions to this topic, and several states
are considering adding the topic to high school curricula. More than a
dozen states have proposed legislation which would enshrine Affirmative
Consent as law.
At present, the law in both NY and CA as well as the Department of
Education Title IX standard used at most colleges is “Only Yes Means Yes.” Further, it is
widely acknowledged that the transition to an implementation of the new “Only Yes Means
Yes” standard is fraught with risks—risks that ONLY can be ameliorated should the parties
document their consent.
The college student of today is faced with a very different environment regarding sexual
relations and consent than the students of even a decade ago. It is not enough to “sort of
agree – i.e. maybe” to engage in sexual contact – the new law and regulations require
explicit affirmative consent. These are conversations many of us might wish to avoid, but
for the millions of Americans for whom “Only Yes Means Yes” is the law they cannot be
4
Enforcement of the new standard of “Only Yes Means Yes” is too important to leave to the
vagaries of he said/she said. The We-Consent™ App is a simple app that records an
approximately 20-second video consisting of four brief segments of two people stating
their affirmative consent to physical interaction. That recording is kept private, encrypted
in the cloud, and inaccessible without a legal petition. (If either user says “no” or does
not unequivocally say “yes” or does not appear as a human face, the app destroys the
video). The app therefore does not document sexual conduct—it documents consent.
More important than the actual documentation of consent is the conversation trigger that
the opportunity for documentation provides when the We-Consent™ App is present on one
or both prospective partners’ phones. When the prospective partners decide whether or
not to run the app – regardless of the app's use, any consideration of running this app will
have already begun a conversation about consent itself. Triggering such discussions is the
main goal of the We-Consent™ App.
Direct discussions between prospective partners would go a long way towards ameliorating
the context and cultural environment that seems to afford opportunities for acquaintance
assault. As noted in a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article:
On campuses, over 90 percent of the perpetrators are acquaintances. Most
women are oriented and trained and socialized to fear the stereotypical
stranger rape and to avoid the underground parking garage or walking home
alone at night across campus. That doesn’t protect them from far-more-
common threats. We’re trying to help women work through the complex
emotional obstacles to recognizing cues in the men they might like or at least
know. With acquaintances, women are much more likely to use methods like
reasoning or pleading or crying, and we know those are ineffective.
http://chronicle.com/article/Sex-Assault-Prevention-Program/230861
A record of consent is an increasingly valuable part of modern life. For example, some
bases staffed by the United States military have required service personnel to sign consent
cards if they were going to engage in fraternization.
Governing bodies, international newspapers and magazines, websites, and
broadcast media devote daily discussions to this topic, and several states
are considering adding the topic to high school curricula. More than a
dozen states have proposed legislation which would enshrine Affirmative
Consent as law.
At present, the law in both NY and CA as well as the Department of
Education Title IX standard used at most colleges is “Only Yes Means Yes.” Further, it is
widely acknowledged that the transition to an implementation of the new “Only Yes Means
Yes” standard is fraught with risks—risks that ONLY can be ameliorated should the parties
document their consent.
The college student of today is faced with a very different environment regarding sexual
relations and consent than the students of even a decade ago. It is not enough to “sort of
agree – i.e. maybe” to engage in sexual contact – the new law and regulations require
explicit affirmative consent. These are conversations many of us might wish to avoid, but
for the millions of Americans for whom “Only Yes Means Yes” is the law they cannot be
4
