The White House has stated that there is a sex crime “epidemic” on U.S college campuses, with one in five students becoming victims of sexual assualt. Rape and sexual assualt awareness is rising due to the victims of these heinous crimes finding the courage to speak out against not only attackers but the way their experiences are viewed by the public. Activists as well as political leaders are beginning to take steps to provide better safety precautions for citizens and provide proper punishment for criminals.

Four college students from South Carolina invented a drug detecting nail polish that will change color after coming in contact with “date rape” drugs such as Xanax, Rohypnol and GHB that were mixed into a drink. The intent of the students was to enable women to prevent sexual assualt when they go out. The nail polish recived a huge media response, and almost all of it was positive.

Fememist, though, believe the invention perpetuates rape culture instead of diminishing it. “The problem is not that women do not know when there are roofies in their drink; the problem is people putting roofies in their drink in the first place,” stated the co-director of FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, Rebecca Nagle. Women are restricted in their behavior when they go out, having to be concerned with what they are wearing, who they are with, and holding their keys between their knuckles as they walk from one place to another. Instead of teaching people how to not get assulated, the focus should be on teaching people not to assult.

Following the movement to increase awareness and putting emphasis on consent, California just passed the “yes means yes” bill. This bill requires universiteis to adopt “affirmative consent” language in the definitions of consensul sex, in order to “curb sexual assault”. The definition of consent, according to the authors of the bill, is “an affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity”. It is clearly stated that silence and lack of resistance do not signify consent, and it is also written that drugs and alcohol are an unacceptable excuse for any unwanted sexual activity. Under this bill, California state schools, as well as any that recieve funding from the state, must adopt new, strict politics regarding sexual assualt, domestic violence, dating violence and other forms of prevalant issues in order to recieve financial aid money. There were no schools in California that opposed the new bill or its regulations.