Last month was Sexual Assault Awareness Month and I was so blessed to listen and participate in a presentation given by two college age young women in our church congregation to a group of high school and middle school girls.
After listening to statistic after statistic and story after story, I felt like I could talk forever about the importance of taking charge of your own life and never letting anyone take your power away from you. A thousand ideas whirred around in my mind in cluttered commotion. I haven't managed to find the time to get them all organized, but you'll probably be seeing a lot more blog posts on the general topic.
This is the first I wanted to address, because it is something I didn't know, and now I want to share it with everyone else.
What is consent?
"Consent is an agreement between people BEFORE they engage in any kind of sexual activity. Both people have to say “YES!” clearly and freely. Sexual activity without consent is sexual assault or rape. Consent must be willing."
"A voluntary, enthusiastic “yes-I-really-want-to-and-thank-you-for-asking” type of consent – not a consent that’s implied on the basis of silence, previous sexual history, or what the person is wearing."
"If you are ever unsure if the person you are with is consenting, just stop and ask."
"You may have heard the idea that “no means no,” but this doesn’t really provide a complete picture of what consent is because it puts the responsibility on one person to resist or accept. It also makes consent about what a partner doesn’t want, instead of being able to openly express what they do want."
"Some people are worried that talking about consent will be awkward or that it will ruin the mood, which is far from true. If anything, the mood is much more positive when both partners are happy and can freely communicate what they want. "
Why I Wish I’d Known Before
So now that you have the basic idea, I'd like to explain why I wish I'd known this before.
I want to say that I am not a rape victim. However, without diminishing the seriousness of rape, I would like to suggest that consent doesn't always have to be about sexual intercourse. It can start with something so much simpler, like hand holding.
As a teenager, I can't tell you how many times I went on dates and ended up holding hands with boys I didn't really like. Or maybe I liked them a little, but wasn’t really sure I wanted to hold their hands. I can remember sitting at a play on a date and out of nowhere my hand was suddenly sweating like crazy in the pasty sweaty hand of the boy next to me. Sure, we were on a date. But I really didn't want to be holding his hand. At the time though, I didn't realize that I could say no. I didn't want to "hurt his feelings."
I wish I had known that I could have taken my hand back and said, "Mm...I don't really want to hold hands right now." Or that I could have just taken my hand back with no explanation at all.
Things escalate quickly, and hand holding can get to body fondling faster than some teens may realize. It is so important that in every stage of dating we have a right to give or reserve our consent.
When I first heard about our right to consent at this workshop, it felt so foreign to me. (A sad result of cultural conditioning.) But as I mulled the idea of always being able to say yes or no, it made complete sense. Lack of communication ruins relationships, so why not start off right from the get-go by always communicating consent? It’s not a question of “being mean,” it’s a question of feeling safe and comfortable with those you associate with.
Women (and men!) should never be pressured into doing anything they don’t want to do (be it kissing, hand holding, sexual intercourse) just because they don’t want to offend someone else. Communication is key; so make sure to speak up!
If you want it, GREAT! There are beautiful, wonderful relationships out there, with mutual consent. I’m in one of those, and it’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. But I know how ugly it feels to not want something and to feel like you don’t have an option.
You should always have an option, and that’s consent.
If you aren’t given the option, and are able, get out of the situation as quickly as you can! Don’t wait until it comes down to sex. If you don’t want to hold hands, don’t. If you don’t want to be kissed, say no. Make sure you have the power from the beginning.
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