California passes “yes-means-yes” campus sexual assault bill: http://t.co/zaRw0p3i9H pic.twitter.com/9XqRfCiZTp

— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) August 29, 2014

Californian lawmakers passed a law on Thursday requiring universities to adopt “affirmative consent” language in their definitions of consensual sex, part of a nationwide drive to curb sexual assault on U.S. campuses.

The measure, passed unanimously by the California State Senate, has been called the “yes-means-yes” bill. It defines sexual consent between people as “an affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity”.

The bill states that silence and a lack of resistance do not signify consent and that drugs or alcohol do not excuse unwanted sexual activity.