Happy Valentine’s Day! Believe it or not SARCC loves when things are sexy. In honor of a day when many people celebrate, love, relationships, and connections, we wanted to take a moment to talk about one of the sexiest topics there is. Consent!
In fact, you really can’t have something that is sexy without having informed, active, enthusiastic consent. When we think about the work that we do at SARCC to prevent sexual violence and promote healing for those who are impacted by it, it’s important to understand consent, and how having it prevents violence from occurring. One of our favorite Training tools, and one that we use with new staff, volunteers, and board members is the consent as Tea video.
Rather than talking about sex, the video challenges us to think about consent in terms of making someone a cup of tea. You shouldn’t give someone a cup of tea when they are asleep or passed out, someone can change their mind about wanting a cup of tea, and they are under no obligation to drink it, and a person can enjoy a cup of tea with you on one day and refuse it the next day or any other time if they feel like it.
Consent is an important topic in many of our prevention programs and one that we can learn more about and talk more about even with very young children. Beginning by asking their permission to help them dress or undressed or if they want hugs or no hugs is a great way to establish body autonomy even with youngsters. As we get older, we begin to explore sexuality and relationship relationships, and consent is important in the settings too. Consent doesn’t only apply to sexual touching. It also applies to digital communication, communications and images. If you feel like it could be helpful to learn more about consent or want to bring a program on consent and healthy sexuality to your parenting group, school group, church group, or just a group of friends that you love and care about in honor of Valentine’s Day, reach out to SARCC. We have prevention specialist who are ready to help you and can probably help you find the perfect training program for your needs.
