To promote sexual consent and safety at Carleton, the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) Womyn’s Centre’s Consent is Sexy Week is running from Sept. 17 – 21 at Carleton.
Consent is Sexy is an Ottawa-wide campaign organized for students by students, Womyn’s Centre programming co-ordinator Diana Banyasz said. Although there have been Consent is Sexy Days in the past, this is the first full week, according to Banyasz.
“This week provides a forum and opens a sex-positive dialogue rather than the ‘blame and shame’ approach that some campaigns have used in the past,” CUSA vice-president (student issues) Hayley Dobson said.
Riley Evans, a second-year political science student and volunteer for the week, also thinks the shift is significant.
“No means no. Anything other than yes means no. But yes means yes too. And yes is a powerful word that we shouldn’t be afraid to use,” Evans said.
Foot Patrol programming co-ordinator Ruty Skvirsky said this week starts important conversations about consent and sex positivity.
“We’re very aware of violence against women, but we also want to focus on people’s day-to-day interactions,” Skvirsky said.
The week was a collaboration of the Womyn’s Centre, Foot Patrol and many other groups including Equity Services, the Graduate Students’ Association, the University of Ottawa’s Women’s Resource Centre, and CUSA.
Banyasz said they’ve had more students come out to events than expected.
“It’s a great start to kick everything off for the year,” she said.
Second-year global politics and economics student Sakshi Sharma went to Consent is Sexy ‘Speed Friending’ Sept. 18.
“I’ve really enjoyed the week so far. There are so many events for different types of people, and they’re organized in a way that lets me catch a speaker on ‘50 Shades of Consent’ before heading to econ,” Sharma said.
However, the campaign doesn’t end on Friday, Banyasz said. The Womyn’s Centre offers services all year and is working towards many long-term goals.
“We hope people will take the skills they learn from this week back to their groups for the rest of the year. It’s also a great opportunity for students to get involved with the amazing groups we have on campus,” said Sarah McCue from the Coalition for a Carleton Sexual Assault Centre.
The dinosaurs in the advertising campaign were chosen because they’re cute, relatable cartoons that are gender and race neutral, said Banyasz.
Banyasz explained the dinosaurs have an added benefit.
“You can’t show two people having sex on a school poster, but you can show two dinosaurs humping.”
