Keep Yourself and Others Safe by Understanding Consent
A lack of understanding about consent can make university a more dangerous place than it needs to be
All over British Columbia, universities like Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Victoria are working on campaigns to educate students about consent. Through videos, events, and online information, the topic is becoming more and more prevalent. Student governments en masse are encouraging people to learn what consent is and why it is extremely important in many different parts of our lives.
Consent means granting permission for something to happen, which can be applied to any situation where mutual agreement is mandatory. Most often, though, it refers to communication between partners during sex.
Consent is a consistent agreement to do something from all parties who are sober, conscious, of legal age, and exhibiting free will. People who are drunk, sleeping, unwilling in any way, or flat-out saying “no” are not consenting. Anyone using body language that says they do not want to do something is not consenting. Silence from someone you’re with is never synonymous with consent.
It also makes articulating the difference between having sex with someone and raping or molesting someone more and more relevant. Mass media coverage of sexual assault cases, from famous people like Harvey Weinstein to civilians like Brock Turner, also play a part in the increasing need for education about consent. Sexual assault can happen to anyone at any time, so using knowledge of consent can help keep people safe.
It’s disappointing that consent is still a foreign term to a lot of people. Most notably, consent during sex is something we should absolutely understand and put into practice, but many don’t. Instead of being direct and asking for consent, people instead rely too heavily on reading body language, which can be confusing and potentially cause a traumatic situation.
Creating awareness about consent is something that our universities are taking initiative on quicker than our governments are. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of people who don’t attend university are unable to have the education that we do. This leaves them at risk of being harmed or harming others.
A 20-month study from the Globe and Mail concluded that one in five sexual assault cases are dismissed for being baseless or unfounded. In Vancouver specifically, the number of cases determined unfounded was reported as 12 per cent.
The study found that the police are incorrectly concluding that too many cases are unfounded. The government should be working to not only improve police training so this issue stops, but also to crack down on sexual assailants who know they are likely to get no more than a slap on the wrist for their crimes.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University has a variety of support services, including counselling, KPU Listens, and the peer support program. If you believe that you may have been sexually assaulted, you can contact any of the KPU services mentioned above, or someone you trust. If there is a threat being made to your life or property, dial 911.
