The American Bar Association will be holding its annual meeting later this week in San Francisco. Appearing on the agenda is a controversial resolution that would promote the use of "affirmative consent" for sexual activities. The resolution reads, 

"RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges legislatures and courts to define consent in sexual assault cases as the assent of a person who is competent to give consent to engage in a specific act of sexual penetration, oral sex, or sexual contact, to provide that consent is expressed by words or action in the context of all the circumstances, and to reject any requirement that sexual assault victims have a legal burden of verbal or physical resistance."

In support of the resolution, its supporters resort to a Hail-Mary pass by highlighting what they call the "research on the neurobiology of trauma:"

"Researchers such as Dr. Judith Herman and Dr. Jim Hopper of Harvard Medical School, as well as Dr. Rebecca Campbell of Michigan State University, are among the nationally recognized experts writing about the neurobiology of trauma as it relates to sexual violence. This body of work can be simplified as identifying three common states of “inaction” that can affect victims: (1) Dissociation, (2) Tonic Immobility, and (3) Collapsed Immobility."

Problem is, research on the neurobiology of trauma has been done with persons who have experienced LIFE-THREATENING events, like human trafficking or forcible rape. But in cases of alleged non-consensual sexual activities, there is no force or physical trauma. You can't generalize from research done on forcible rape victims to college students who woke up the next morning to regret their one-night stand.

We urge you to express your opposition to JUNK SCIENCE Resolution 114. Call or email:

ABA Criminal Justice Section Director Kevin Scruggs 
(202) 662-1503
kevin.scruggs@americanbar.org

The ABA conference begins tomorrow.