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Yes means yes. Sex without consent is rape.

Almost every seventh woman in Germany is raped or sexually assaulted. Your partner whom you love, your best buddy whom you don't want to reject, your crush whom you want to please: people you know and trust are more likely to become perpetrators than strangers.

Sexualized and physical violence against women is still a major problem in Germany. Let's fight together for a culture of consensus in our country:

Because only yes means yes!

This petition was initiated by the two activists Vanessa Bell (educationalist) and Maria Schrammen (historian). To give the issue even more clout, the association KO - Kein Opfer e.V.. ,represented by Nina Fuchs (activist), joined the petition as a cooperation partner.

Our goals are:

1. a change in society and a rethinking of the issue of consent, including educational and preventive measures in schools
2. amendment of the sexual criminal law according to the principle "Yes means Yes".

Since 2016, the principle "No means No" has applied in German sexual criminal law. Rape is thereby punishable as soon as the person concerned expresses his or her "no". Although the updated law also takes into account people who are unable to express a "no," it does not include a clear consensual principle. However, we know from our work with affected people and our own experience: the law is not enough.

Why a "yes" is so important:

There are situations in which victims of sexualized violence do not dare to say "no" or simply cannot. Victims of rape are often under pressure or blindsided by the transgression of their own boundaries. However, a lack of "no" does not automatically mean that sex is wanted. By asking for consent, trafficked persons have the opportunity to reflect on the situation again and ask themselves: do I want this? Does my counterpart also want this? And this is exactly where the principle "Yes means yes" comes into play. Only those who reassure themselves with a clear "yes" can really know whether the other person wants to have sex.

Sweden as a role model

Since July 2018, a new sexual offence law has been in force in Sweden, the so-called "consent law" (in Swedish "Samtyckeslag"). Under this new law, it can no longer be interpreted as consent if the partner is passive. The principle is "only yes means yes" - meaning that the partner must express consent in a verbal or nonverbal way. Recent studies from Sweden make it clear: the law is having an effect!

Now it must be Germany's turn

Already, almost half of Germans would like to see stricter sexual criminal law along the lines of the Swedish model, according to a survey by the YouGov polling institute (2018). Surely it can only be in everyone's interest that sex only takes place by mutual consent.

Additional information:

A consensus principle has a positive impact at all levels of law enforcement. It starts with the report - currently, the first question that always arises is whether the person involved said no and whether the other person could recognize this. If this is not the case, the door to prosecution is usually closed directly. However, if it is possible on the basis of the law to ask at this point whether yes was said or consent was expressed, this not only opens the door for further investigation, it also clearly shows that responsibility does not lie exclusively with the victim and possible criminal liability is measured only by the behavior of the victim, as is currently the case.

It is very important that the responsibility does not lie solely with the victim, but with the perpetrators. Too often, society shifts the responsibility for sexual assault onto the victims. Flirting, being under the influence of alcohol or provocative clothing are used as excuses for sexual assaults without looking for the responsibility of the only person who has to take it: the person using sexualized violence, the rapist. According to the "yes means yes" model, the responsibility to secure mutual consent lies instead with all parties involved. Thus, it is not up to the person who potentially becomes the victim of rape to say "NO" verbally or nonverbally and, most importantly, independently. The person initiating the sex, in the absence of clear verbal or nonverbal consent, must take action on his or her own and ask for consent.

A change in the law would also have an influence on the further levels of criminal prosecution - on the investigations at the public prosecutor's office, which would not be concluded immediately if no clearly expressed "no" could be found in the file, and finally on the trial in court, in which defendants who claim that it took place consensually would simply be questioned about what exactly this was based on. "The person didn't say no" would then no longer be sufficient to end the issue.

This does not necessarily mean that in such moments there would then be a condemnation. But it would once again become clear where the actual responsibility lies, namely with the perpetrator. Even if someone were not proven to be a perpetrator in the criminal sense in a trial due to the known problems of proof, the entire communication would have a completely different tone than in situations in which the behavior of the reporting person is predominantly illuminated. However, this often seems to be the case at the moment, which is why we have not moved as far away from the principle that applied before "No means no", namely that without physical resistance it cannot be assumed that an assault is punishable, as was actually intended.

The presumption of innocence for the perpetrator remains. "Yes means yes", however, offers the opportunity to shed a little more light on sexual acts that so often take place in the so-called gray area. Since February 1, 2018, the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty agreed upon by 46 member states of the Council of Europe so far, is legally binding in Germany and defines sexual violence as any sexual act with another person without mutual consent. We therefore call for a reform of German sexual criminal law and the inclusion of the principle "Yes means Yes", and thus a consistent implementation of the Istanbul Convention, which protects victims of violence.

With the "Yes means Yes" petition, we want to further initiate the discussion that sex should only take place with mutual consent. First of all, it is important for us to raise awareness on the topic of "consent". Please also visit our Instagram channel @jaheisstja! The further goal is to change the sexual criminal law to "Yes means Yes", with Spain, Denmark and Sweden serving as a model. We are already talking to lawyers about this.

Let's get loud ! #yesmeansyes #consensistsexy

Special thx to Isa (Instagram: @isa.tatu) for the beautiful logo! We love you #womensupportingwomen