With 3 positive and 4 negative verdicts in California's Weinstein case, Weinstein and Cosby survivors are backing CAN's efforts to define CONSENT by law, turning "consent as a human right" into "consent as a civil right."
NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- "Prosecutors don't go into a courtroom intending to lose. But they can't reliably win when the state's laws fail to back them up," says Joyce Short, CEO of the Consent Awareness Network (CAN). "California bases consent on 'positive cooperation' by the victim, not 'malicious influence' by the accused. In other crimes, ''malicious influence' determines guilt or innocence," Short says.
CAN tackles the legislative flaws that create victim-blaming and shaming. Their efforts have been instrumental in introducing consent bills in NY State and passing a military amendment in the US House of Representatives. The consent definition repeated throughout its work is: "Consent is a freely given, knowledgeable and informed agreement, by a person with the capacity to reason, #FGKIA." Short emphasizes that defining consent correctly in California's laws is the key to holding sexual predators accountable.
Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann, key witnesses in New York's case against Harvey Weinstein, support CAN's efforts. "Using malicious influence to secure compliance should not be mistaken as consent," says Mann.
Paula Williams, a Weinstein Silence Breaker says, "We need to make it clear that seeking a mentor, advice, or even networking in your field, should never be confused with 'consent.'"
"Inept consent laws result in hung juries," says Short. She states that the back-to-back hung juries in the Weinstein and Danny Masterson cases show poor guidance on consent in California's laws. Weinstein's defense called a key witness a "bimbo" and demanded that she fake an orgasm on the stand. "Neither of these offensive attacks against the witness had anything to do with whether Weinstein used malicious influence against her," Short says.
Stacey Pinkerton, Bill Cosby Survivor and advocate for laws to fight against coercive control says, "Consent is never possible when 'No" is not an option."
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, the presiding judge in the Larry Nassar/USA Gymnastics Case says, "The legislature, and the supreme court need clear definitions of consent, both in the law and in the jury instructions. Without it, investigations are not completed, indictments are not made, and jury trials are lost - not because someone is innocent but because consent is not clearly defined. Once consent is clearly defined, the innocent, will stay free, the guilty will be convicted, and there will be fewer victims and less re-victimization."
"Society needs our justice system to define 'consent' correctly, turning 'consent as a human right,' into 'consent as a civil right,' backed by law!" Short says. Her words are supported by:
Andrea Constand- Key Witness: PA's Bill Cosby Case, Founder:
HopeHealing.ca and SAFEAPP
Miriam Haley- Key Witness: NY's Weinstein Case
Jessica Mann- Key Witness: NY's Weinstein Case
Paula Williams- Weinstein Silence Breaker
Stacey Pinkerton- Bill Cosby Survivor, Actor, and Activist for laws on coercive control
Dawn Dunning- State's Witness: NY's Weinstein Case
Susan & Alex Prout- Co-Founders: IHaveTheRightTo.org
Ivy Dominique- Survivor, Model, Actress, Producer, Glamour
Magazine's 2022 "Women of the Year" Award
Jessica Michaels- Jeffrey Epstein Survivor, Advocate, Educator, Founder: JessMichaelsSpeaks.com
Sarah Edmonson- NXIVM Survivor, Co-Founder: ALittleBitCulty.com
& IGotOut.org
Anthony "Nippy" Ames- NXIVM Survivor, Co-Founder: ALittleBitCulty.com
The Honorable Judge Rosemarie Aquilina- Author & Veteran: Michigan Army National Guard
Nina Lucas- Chief of Staff, ConsentAwareness.net, Anti-Military Abuse Advocate: NeverAloneAdvocacy.org
Media Contact
Joyce Short, Consent Awareness Network, 1 9175178572, [email protected]
SOURCE Consent Awareness Network
Share this article