It's a pretty straightforward concept: You don't put your hands on anyone without their permission. And the lack of a "no" does not automatically mean a "yes."Yet, debates over consent seem to permeate our society. With the worrying statistics of campus sexual assault (most recently exemplified in the headlines regarding a sexual assault at Stanford and the controversy surrounding The Birth Of A Nation star and director, Nate Parker), it seems that we unfortunately still live in a world that, far too often, places the blame on victims instead of emphasizing the importance of teaching people ( mostly men ) not to rape.It's a world in which we jump to blaming women for " asking for it " instead of examining what men can do to avoid being a part of the problem. It's also a world in which someone is sexually assaulted in America every two minutes It's time we started making consent a vital part of sex education — and emphasizing how crucial it is to get an enthusiastic "yes" from a sexual partner before continuing. With something this important, it's better to be safe than sorry.So we talked to 14 men (Refinery29 employees and readers) about how they learned the value of consent. Their answers are powerful, enlightening, and, hopefully, indicative of why sexual consent is so essential. Read ahead for their stories.