Info

The project

The Culture of Consent project aims to create tools for the prevention of, and intervention in, situations of sexual harassment, all while encouraging consent culture.

The Culture of Consent project aims to create tools for the prevention of, and intervention in, situations of sexual harassment, all while encouraging consent culture.

In accordance with the project’s objectives, a context study and a needs evaluation as relates to identifying, preventing and intervening in cases of sexual harassment in youth aged 12 to 17 in the targeted area were carried out (2018-2019). To accomplish this, discussion groups for adolescents as well as for school and community workers were formed. This study gave us a better understanding of shared concerns for each respective group as well as their level of knowledge and awareness about consent culture and sexual violence. This first phase also led to the developing of partnerships with different community leaders. Over the second phase (2019-2020), tools were created in order to respond to the needs, observations and recommendations identified by the research. The third and last phase of the project (2020-2021) is entirely dedicated to the implementation and sharing of these tools in different schools and communities targeted by the project.

The project’s goal is to propose changes to, and offer tools for the development of, policies and intervention practices for sexual harassment, and at a larger scale, sexual violence. Communities will then be better equipped to prevent, identify, and intervene in situations of sexual harassment, and at a larger scale, of sexual violence, with a perspective of gender equality.

Équipe

Justine Chénier

Coordinator

Salma Lazim

Communications Manager

Ramaëlle Duquette

Consultant and ex-coordinator

Aude Voineau

Graphic designer

Remerciements

The Culture of Consent project was made possible thanks to financial support from the Canadian Minister for Women and Gender Equality.

We offer our sincere thanks to all of our partners who have generously contributed their time, perspective and expertise to this project from its very start.

Aude Voineau

Illustrations, graphic design for the toolkit, video animation

Club Sexu

Web design and development, social media

Prévention CDN-NDG presents

Culture of Consent

This project seeks to create systemic changes in sexual harassment in high schools.

Download tools

Project

“Culture of Consent” aims to prevent and oppose sexual harassment and encourage a culture of consent in high schools and communities in the areas of Côte-des-Neiges, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Outrement and Town of Mount Royal.

This project, bridging research and action, includes three phases :

  • 2018-2019 — Context  study and evaluation of needs of young people, teachers, and school staff, as well as community workers.
  • 2019-2020 — Developing tools to respond to the needs expressed in the first phase as relates to combating sexual harassment.
  • 2020-2021 — Implementation and sharing of these tools in different environments targeted by the project.
Content preview

Objectives

1. Bring about systemic change

Creating systemic changes in school policies and practices related to preventing, detecting and intervening in situations of sexual harassment.

2. Extend these changes to the community

Extending these changes to the community, meaning to organizations and other institutions working with youth, in order to have a collective impact on this issue and contribute to advancing gender equality at an economic, social, and democratic level.

3. Cultivate consent culture

Cultivating consent culture in targeted schools and neighbourhoods in order to prevent sexual harassment and violence.

4. Foster youth involvement

Fostering and supporting the development of a sense of engagement in young people as relates to consent culture.

Content preview

Rape culture

Rape culture refers to discourse, behaviours, and attitudes that excuse, normalize, or even approve of or encourage sexual assault and violence. It is an organized, systemic social and behavioural structure that is passed from generation to generation. It can manifest in a number of different ways, from individual behaviours and attitudes that normalize sexual violence toward women, to the objectification and sexualization of women’s bodies in the media and cultural sphere.

Consent culture

In contrast to rape culture, consent culture is an expression of values and attitudes that respect people’s bodily autonomy, based on the belief that a person is always the best-qualified to determine their own needs and desires. Consent culture involves all people and seeks to build solidarity and empathy for victims of sexual harassment or violence.

Sexual consent

Sexual consent is an explicit agreement to a specific sexual act. In order to be valid, consent must be:

  • Freely given without restraint by someone in full possession of their functions and understanding the modalities, intentions, and elements of a sexual relationship;
  • Renewed with each new sexual act and can be revoked at any time without negative consequences or justification;
  • Enthusiastically expressed.

Sexual consent involves all sexual relations, whether they happen once, occasionally, or on a long-term basis.

Sexual harassment and violence

Sexual violence refers to any action or attitude that forces someone to submit to, carry out or be confronted with sexual acts without their consent (rape, assault, harassment, exploitation, etc.).

More specifically, sexual harassment is a type of sexual violence that involves imposing of sexual comments or actions on a person or a group of people without, or against, their consent; violating a person or group of people’s rights, their dignity or their psychological, physical or moral well-being; or creating a situation that is hostile, humiliating, intimidating or offensive.

Sexual harassment can take many forms

Verbal
Non-verbal
Physical
Cyberharassment

Éléments du caroussel

  • Verbal sexual harassment

    • Sexist, vulgar, or degrading jokes
    • Comments on physical appearance
    • Comments about private life
    • Use of overly familiar, degrading, homophobic or sexist terms
    • Use of insinuating language
    • Repeated invitations of any kind
    • Explicit sexual propositions
    • Use of veiled or blatant promises in exchange for sexual favours
    • Etc.

  • Non-verbal sexual harassment

    • Wolf-whistling
    • Inappropriate or sexual looks
    • Posting degrading or pornographic material
    • Explicit sexual gestures; continuous presence of the harasser
    • Sexual, sexist or homophobic messages
    • Etc.

  • Physical sexual harassment

    • Intentional physical grazing
    • Groping or touching such as slapping the behind
    • Tickling
    • Pinching
    • Kissing
    • Physically cornering
    • Etc.

  • Cyberharassment

    Sending sexual text messages or repeated requests or sexual photos or images to an unwilling person.

Tools

We developed a series of tools to promote awareness and prevention of sexual harassment of young people.

Video

Introduces general information on sexual harassment, the forms it can take, and its effects.

Posters

Designed to be visibly displayed in areas frequented by young people.

Pamphlets

Intended to be distributed to young people in order to provide them with easily accessible resources, whether to have their questions answered, confide in someone, or receive advice.

Intervention guide

Offers guidelines and recommendations to engage with adolescents about sexual harassment.

Training worksheets

Seek to help young people question certain behaviours that could become problematic and reflect on possible actions to take. The objective is to develop and reinforce their abilities to identify situations of sexual harassment.

Research report

Helps familiarize community and school workers with sexual harassment and the different ways it can manifest in the lives of young people.

Our tool kit

We developed a series of tools to promote awareness and prevention of sexual harassment of young people.

Download

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

fr