Absolutely.
First I will say that it is not my area of expertise. I would definitely bow to the two people we have from B.C. for more detailed expertise on this.
But it would definitely seem that the media and the general public are lacking in understanding of explicit continuing consent to sexual activity. That's not surprising, given the language. What exactly does that mean?
You see in the United States a lot campuses are moving to “yes means yes”, which is a simpler way of saying that you need a continual “yes” for what is going on. We really do need a lot of education around that.
On the one hand, there's a lot of backlash going on from people who don't even understand that what they're saying is backlash. But the prioritizing, for example, on Parliament Hill of what the women MPs have to say about the situation right now is a good thing. That's a start. That's where all women's services begin, in listening to women and listening to their stories.
Education on consent is key. I didn't know about B.C. and West Coast LEAF's education for grades 7 and 8, but I think we need to go to curriculum. It should be in the health curriculum for young people, girls and boys, to learn exactly what consent is, so they come out of school with an understanding of explicit continuing consent to sexual activity.