Consent Culture
One of the ethos of the Matrices and Vortices is that we take consent culture seriously and we commit to providing extensive education, tools and support.
Consent is people deciding what is best for them, clearly and enthusiastically. Consent is a voluntary agreement to engage in an activity. It must be given by both people. Consent must be clearly expressed in words and behavior. No means No
It is very important to note that consent is not obtained if a person is impaired by alcohol or drugs.
Consent Culture is an environment built around mutual consent. It respects a person’s decisions and autonomy of their own body and acknowledges that they are the best judge of their wants and needs.
Consent is ongoing, meaning it can be withdrawn at any stage, and must be freely given.
5 Steps of Building Consent Culture:
1 Practice the Art of Listening:
Be open to actively listen to others in a conversation. To listen, is to learn; capitalize on opportunities to educate yourself on issues that affect all types of people,
2 Educate Yourself:
Consent is an important and sometimes complicated topic, so read articles and gather resources.
3 Utilize Empathy:
Empathy is not trying to find the silver lining, it is certainly not saying “everything happens for a reason” and in these vulnerable situations it is not often comparing situations. 90% of empathy is listening and trying to put yourself in that situation - how would you feel?
4 Ask Questions:
If you are ever unsure of how you can positively contribute to building consent culture, or you are unsure of something regarding consent, ASK! While these conversations may seem awkward at first, they are necessary. The more we talk about consent, the easier it will be.
5 Use your Voice:
More conversations, questions, and desire to challenge patriarchal ideas will result in greater awareness and engagement levels. Use your voice to advocate and educate others, and if they hesitate to show their willingness to listen, carefully explain the severity of the issue and why they should care. Lastly, call out your friends. Not only are “rape jokes” not funny, but they are incredibly triggering.
If at any point harassment or assault occurs there is a team of onsite support:
There will be a team of Harm Reduction volunteers at the Sanctuary that understands the impacts of trauma
The team of Harm Reduction will work with security to respond to the needs of anyone that has been harassed/assaulted
Anything that is reported to us is at utmost held high in confidentiality and at safe from disclosure
Sourced and quoted from the educational links: