How Does Your State Define Sexual Consent? — Understanding Sexual Consent Laws in the U.S.

Words by Caitlin Curtis
Illustration by Jacqueline W. Nuzzo

Content Warning: Sexual Abuse

Yellow background with blue, red, and yellow bodies spread across overlapping.

Figurative Landscape (Intimacy) | 2022. 32"W x 20"H | Jacqueline W. Nuzzo

For centuries, individuals have come forward to heroically share their accounts of sexual abuse, assault, rape, harassment, and manipulation. Whether to a trusted friend or family member, a health care professional, or even their followers on social media, these stories are told repeatedly, seemingly with no end in sight. At the core of these experiences and stories is a violation of consent.

The Brief History of Consent in the United States 

The notion of sexual consent in a legal context is relatively new in the United States. In the late 1800s, public support rose significantly in favor of raising the age of consent, which at that time was as old as twelve and as young as seven in certain states. By the early 1900s, organizations such as the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, members of the Labor, Civil Rights, and Populist movements, and feminists like Helen Hamilton Gardener had successfully influenced multiple states to raise their minimum age of consent to between sixteen and eighteen. Despite the work of women of color to amend consent laws, courts generally only recognized assault claims by white mothers advocating for their white children that could still prove their virginity to the courts. In the 100-plus years since increasing the age of consent, most states have failed to change or update these laws, many of which have marital exemptions; this means that the age of consent does not apply to people who are married. In most states, the laws addressing the age of consent lack updated language to address the complexities of sexual consent beyond age and many don't appropriately define sexual assault and rape. 

Does No Really Mean No? You Should Check Your State Constitution. 

The inconsistency between various state laws and definitions creates a dangerous and traumatic space for victims-survivors who want to come forward about their experiences but are unsupported by the laws that govern them. The legal definitions of rape, sexual assault and abuse, plus the reporting mechanisms and the consequences for perpetrators change state-to-state. The federal government, specifically the Department of Justice, has done some work to create national definitions of these terms but has yet to enact a legal definition for sexual consent. Some states like Maryland and Indiana have passed or are working on laws that directly address sexual consent. Without statewide laws, sexual consent may not be addressed directly in the state’s legislation. With no federal guidance and without consistent language between state laws, these institutions are doing anything but serving us and instead setting victims up for failure. The language of laws matters, and when it is not concrete and consistent, it can be misinterpreted, ineffective, and used against victim-survivors. 

"What If I Don't Want To Press Charges? Do These Consent Laws Really Matter?" 

Yes! Laws and their language matter, especially the language of state and federal laws associated with your body and your choices. We have witnessed this impact firsthand when it comes to abortion law. We have seen the destruction of abortion and health care access in response to the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. One by one, state legislatures have introduced, and in some cases have passed, bills that directly affect thousands of potential abortion seekers. When a law restricts access or choice, there can be many unforeseen consequences. Taking away the right to abortion has indirectly left many in rural areas without access to life-saving treatments. Many abortion clinics like Planned Parenthood provide much more for their patients than abortion, but when anti-abortion legislation passed, most clinics had to close their doors. Regulating laws around rape and sexual assault could give more clarity and agency to victims and could also help influence laws around abortion, especially in cases of rape. 

So What Can We Do? How Can We Promote a Culture of Consent? 

This is a very long and hard battle to be fought within the political and cultural sphere. It can be very difficult for sexual health legislation to be introduced and passed because many individuals are not involved in their local, state, or federal politics. So, there needs to be different ways to enact change to grant everyone, including victim-survivors, true power and justice. Specifically, working with our youth and the individuals most susceptible to sexual violence can spark a movement that, hopefully, one day will affect legislative change on the state and even federal levels. To find information about this topic and the work on consent, you can check out the many organizations that fight for this type of change.

Some organizations working with youth in schools and universities to educate them on topics like consent, sexual violence, and survivor resources are the Schools Consent Project, Its On Us, SafeBae, Bloom365, End Rape On Campus, and Speak About It. There are also national organizations fighting at the state and federal levels to bring change and provide information to the masses, like the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, with almost every state having its own coalitions, associations, or foundations you can support and become involved. We need to do more to create a culture where everyone understands consent in its entirety and every body is respected. Doing your own research and working in your own communities can make an impact.

About the Author

Caitlin (Caitie) Curtis is a multidisciplinary artist in Baltimore, Maryland. She is an art educator, an Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion facilitator/coordinator, and has a Master of Fine Art in Photography and Electronic Media from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Curtis creates visual and written work in response to current political issues related to trauma, sexual assault, and equity. Curtis continues to teach, facilitate, and create work that challenges traditional modes of thinking.

About the ILLUSTRATOR

Jacqueline W. Nuzzo (b. 1995) is an artist working in printmaking, drawing, and collage. Her studio practice experiments with ambiguity, repetition, and the body as a vehicle for expression. Repeating patterns often serve as the foundation for her compositions, anchoring the heat-pressed, screen-printed, and hand-drawn figurative forms that are used numerously in various works.

Collaging these elements is an integral part to Nuzzo's intuitive process. By relying on a constantly evolving library of biomorphic, abstracted depictions of the body, she is able to spontaneously deconstruct and reassemble her matrices to build new compositions. This creates a space to work from instinct, impulse, and freedom. Nuzzo received her BA in Studio Art and Biology from St. Olaf College in 2017 and is currently an MFA candidate in print media at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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