A non-profit volunteer based organization called Project Consent has started their own campaign to raise awareness for the true meaning of sexual consent as well as the harmful stereotypes surrounding rape culture, in which rape is stigmatized or belittled.
No one wants to talk about rape. It's a subject matter that is often shied away from or even demeaned when in reality the U.S. Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey states that there are 293,006 victims (12 years and older) of rape and sexual assault each year. Which works out to 1 sexual assault every 107 seconds.
Rape happens everyday, sexual assault happens every day and it's time that our country begins to educate people about why this is and how we, as a collective force, can stop it from continuing.
It all starts with campaigns like Project Consent, which, as part of their latest campaign, utilizes short, humorous graphics and media, as well as easy to understand concepts and terminology- to teach people what sexual consent is.
Every sexual act requires consent to be given from all parties involved. If you consent to one sexual act, that does not mean you have consented to any more. If you consent one time to a sexual act, that does not mean you have to again at a later time.
Consent is given verbally and it can also be given nonverbally through explicit cues or gestures. Consent can also be revoked at an moment in time and CAN not be given under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Silence is not consent. Alcohol is not consent. "The absence of no is not consent." These popular slogans for the sexual consent awareness need to be shared and truly understood by the public. Consent must always be given freely.
Project Consent teaches us that blame is not on the victims of rape and sexual assault but on the perpetrators of these crimes. The ability to give consent is a right and not a privilege.
Understanding that consent must be given in all forms of a sexual relationship is KEY to debunking the rape stereotypes and myths that victims are to blame. It is educational approaches like Project Consent's that will change the story of how rape is talked about in this country.
It is campaigns like Project Consent that are helping to change the narrative surrounding rape and consent in our culture.
Posted Below is a link to Project Consent's website and their educational videos:
http://www.projectconsent.com/videos/
