Coming To The Right Answer By Themselves: Talking With Boys About Sexual Assault

In the basement of a suburban Philadelphia home, half a dozen high school freshman boys recently met to munch on chips and pretzels — and to talk about sexual assault in the wake of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. A Jewish group called Moving Traditions , sponsored by Temple Sinai in Dresher, Pa., brought them together as part of its programs to encourage teenagers to talk about this and other difficult issues. Volunteer group leader Cody Greenes, 35, introduced the week's topic by asking the boys to raise their hands if they've heard of the #MeToo movement . Then Greenes led a discussion about the historical power differences between men and women and how that can play out when it comes to sex. After talking about the larger issue, Greenes posed the question: "Do we believe that verbal consent is necessary?" Most of the boys said yes, but one, David Levin, argued it isn't always simple. He described a situation on a bus where both people already said they're interested in