Let's learn
Consent culture and rape culture are concepts that can feel very overwhelming and abstract. Let's break this down together!
consent culture
'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.
- Canadian Federation of Students, Ontario
Consent culture, where people in a community feel empowered to freely make decisions regarding their own comfort as it pertains to their sexual experiences, is created through open dialogue about sex.
- Boston University, BU Today
We create ‘consent culture’ when we value the feelings of people we are interacting with either casually or professionally. It’s about respecting each other’s personal and emotional boundaries every time. It is myth that consent is only important when it comes to sex. Consent culture goes beyond sex and applies to everyday interactions – from sharing a photo of someone online, to asking before giving a hug.
- Mohd Ikram, Breakthrough: Rising Against Gender-Based Violence
...but what even is consent?
We have put together a guide to consent that you can purchase here.
Here are some additional resources on consent to check out:
Rape culture
A ‘rape culture’ is a society where sexual violence is excused or seen as normal. In these environments, we are taught social norms about gender, power, sex, and different identities that unfairly put blame and responsibility on people who experience harm. Rape culture teaches us that we should not challenge systems or people who cause harm, and that those who cause harm will not be held accountable for it.
The rape culture pyramid helps show how small actions and beliefs build on each other to create a culture that enables harm.
The rape culture pyramid can help us visualize 2 key themes, which are:
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No forms of oppression are working independently of one another. When someone is experiencing harm and/or acts of violence (the top of the pyramid), there are ties to structural forms of oppression (the bottom of the pyramid).
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By minimizing the 'smaller' acts, such as objectification, dress codes, or catcalling, we are actually reinforcing the attitudes and behaviours that allow for more explicit forms of violence, such as rape and intimate partner violence.
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The consent culture sphere helps us to understand what kinds of acts, attitudes, and policies we can support and enact in our lives in order to dismantle beliefs that perpetuate rape culture.
Our beliefs, communities, and systems shape how we respond to rape culture and build a culture of consent.
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For example, letting go of strict gender roles and embracing a more flexible view of gender can help reduce gender-based violence. It can also make it easier for male survivors to seek help by challenging traditional ideas about masculinity.
