LANSING — State Rep. Pam Faris (D-Clio) introduced House Resolution 156 today to declare Sept. 26, 2017, as Michigan Youth Consent Day in the state of Michigan. MY Consent Day is designed to empower young people, especially college students, to know their rights, to communicate about consent and to engage in healthy relationships to better prevent sexual assault.

“It is so incredibly important that young people recognize the power of consent in forming both healthy relationships and a strong understanding of their own self-worth,” Faris said. “I hope that by raising awareness of the importance of consent today, we can continue working to better educate young people in Michigan about the difference between consent and nonconsent.”

Michigan Youth Consent Day is held annually on the fourth Tuesday in September, during the first three months of the school year when sexual assaults are most likely to take place. According to the most recent statistics, 1 in 5 women1, at least 6 percent of men2 and more than 40 percent of LGBT community members3 will be sexually assaulted during their time as a student in a Michigan college or university. What’s more, almost 67 percent of sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows.4

“It is up to us as legislators and leaders in our communities to ensure that young people today are equipped with the knowledge of what consent means, and how necessary it is,” Faris said. “Providing all young people in Michigan with this critical information is an important step toward combating and preventing sexual assault.”

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[1] Krebs, Christopher et al. "Campus Climate Survey Validation Study Final Technical Report." Department of Justice (R&DP-2015: 04, NCJ 249545) (2016).

2 "Male Survivors of Sexual Assault | Sexual Assault Prevention and …" 2015. 4 Aug. 2016 <https://sapac.umich.edu/article/53>

3 "The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 …" 2016. 4 Aug. 2016 <https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_sofindings.pdf>

4 "Statistics | RAINN." 2008. 4 Aug. 2016 <https://www.rainn.org/statistics>