“Yes Means Yes:” A New Approach to Sexual Assault Prevention and Positive Sexuality Promotion

Abstract

“Yes Means Yes” (YMY) is an interdisciplinary, noncredit, five-week, positive sexuality seminar offered at a small liberal arts college as part of a campus-wide initiative to improve students’ relationship skills and behaviors. Most university campuses employ some sort of sexual assault prevention program to help protect students from problematic sexual interactions. This course focuses on helping students decide what they would like from their relationships in a collaborative seminar format, rather than focusing only on what they should avoid. Feedback from the class has been overwhelmingly positive, and it is likely that students at other campuses could benefit from this program.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexuality education
• pleasure
• consent
• relationships
• sexual assault prevention
• positive sexuality curriculum

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Wellness Initiative, Counseling & Psychological Services, and the Dean's Office at Colgate University. Kevin Carlsmith and Douglas Johnson assisted with data analysis.