Dive Brief:
- Wendy Mandell-Geller says her YES to SEX app can help students to give and receive consent for sexual encounters, which could potentially help reduce the number of on-campus sexual assaults.
- The app integrates Title IX information and requirements for defined consent and incorporates verbal recognition systems to process a person declining sex, even after consent has been given.
- Some officials say consent cannot prevent sexual assault, and puts additional burden on a potential victim during what could be a violent attack.
Dive Insight:
As campuses attempt to reduce liability in prevention and response to sexual assault, a mobile application would, on its surface, seem like a useful tool to complement increased public safety and educational efforts. But, aside from the challenge of actually getting students to download and use the app, the costs and data to demonstrate its actual effectiveness could be an even tougher challenge in collecting.
Given the mounting legal difficulties in aligning campus assault handling with legal standards, campuses are perhaps better suited to invest in resources to educate students about the impact of sexual assault, on the futures of the aggressor and the victim, the institution's brand, and considerations of future students.