What is the definition of consent?

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What does it mean to consent to sexual contact with another person?

It depends on who you ask and, frankly, where that contact or interaction takes place because not every state defines consent the same way.

In Pennsylvania, defining consent and applying that definition in a court setting is left to the jury. There were jurors during deliberations in Bill Cosby’s 2018 trial on sexual assault charges who were shocked to learn that Pennsylvania does not have a legal definition of consent.

Jennifer Storm, former Pennsylvania Victim’s Advocate, author and victim’s rights expert joins Smart Talk Tuesday to talk about the initiative to legally define consent in Pennsylvania. Joining her on the program is Joyce Short, author of “Your Consent- the Key to Conquering Sexual Assault,” and the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Consent Awareness Network (CAN).