The Alaska State Capitol. Photo courtesy of the Alaska Legislature.
Last year, Reps. Geran Tarr, a Democrat from Anchorage, introduced House Bill 5. According to Tarr’s website, it was a two year effort to craft a bill to change the 40-year-old definition of consent.
The bill became a part of Republican Reps. Sara Rasmussen’s House Bill 325, which was officially signed into law on Oct. 5th, 2022. House Bill 325 received bipartisan support.
Previously, the definition of “without consent” in cases of sexual assault was defined as “with or without resisting, [someone] is coerced by the use of force against a person or property,” or that someone “is incapacitated as a result of an act of the defendant.”
Tarr, Rasmussen, and other Alaskans highlighted the shortcomings of the previous law in an opinion piece submitted to the Anchorage Daily News. They noted that under the previous definition of “without consent,” it was only considered sexual assault if force or the threat of force was involved.
According to the article, “This failed to recognize well-known, documented responses to trauma, such as freezing or dissociation, and implied that unless someone was beaten bloody and left with visible injuries, they were not assaulted.”
As of Jan. 1, 2023, the definition of consent has changed to say that “‘without consent’ means that, under the totality of the circumstances surrounding the offense, there was not a freely given, reversible agreement specific to the conduct at issue.”
Under the law, freely given is now defined as, an “agreement to cooperate in the act was positively expressed by word or action.”
“Reversible” is an important part of this new definition.
“Someone can say yes 100 times, and then if they say no one time, no means no,” said Haley Lugers, UAA’s Peer Health Educator health education assistant, “Someone can take back their consent at any time.”
This new definition is more in-line with what Peer Health Educators teach students on campus. At UAA, Peer Health Educators are students who help provide health education to other students. They use the FRIES acronym: consent is freely given, reversible, informed, enthusiastic and specific.
Summer Sweet, the health promotion specialist with the Peer Health Educators, says that it’s important for people to understand consent both in and out of sexual contexts. Sweet said that college can sometimes be the first time students are taught about consent.
“Society [is] starting to look at correct forms of consent and destigmatize things like that.”
She said that things like stalking and unhealthy relationships are often portrayed in different kinds of media, and some people can still base their understanding of consent on myths and incorrect information.
Lugers said that one of the strengths of Peer Health Educators is their ability to communicate on a peer-to-peer level when educating students. “Research has shown by far it’s the most effective way to reach these college populations.”
According to the Alaska Victimization Survey, a survey conducted by the UAA Justice Center, 6 out of 10 respondents reported experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetime. In 2020, 75.6% of respondents reported experiencing any sexual violence in their lifetime. The rates of sexual assault are even higher for Alaska Native and American Indian women.
Many resources exist for Alaskans experiencing sexual violence. Those needing immediate help should call 911.
Alaska’s CARELINE number is 877-266-4357.
The Standing Together Against Rape (STAR) hotline is 907- 276-7273.
Abused Women’s Aid In Crisis Inc. (AWAIC) provides housing for people experiencing domestic violence.
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