A consent workshop by UCF’s Let’s Be Clear, helped educate students on what consent means and provide options for those who have been victims of sexual harassment and assault.
The event, held Oct. 17, was part of a series of workshops to help empower students to avoid becoming victims of sexual violence, as well as inform them on how to participate as an active bystander in certain situations.
“Giving consent means giving a yes, either verbal or non-verbal. Without it, it is not consent,” said workshop conductor, Kayleigh Marsh.
Recent statistics from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center show that one in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college. More than 90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report their assault, party because they do not fully understand if they have been assaulted.
The workshop provided a list of various different resources for students who have been victims of sexual harassment, sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking.
Workshop content included a discussion on the definition of consent, why consent is important, and different ways in which one might receive consent.
“People think consent is this ‘awkward’ thing. We try to show people how to ask for consent in everyday conversations, and try to take away the ‘awkwardness’ of asking someone,” said Emily Wente, a registered clinical social worker and intern with Student Care Services.
Resources available for those who have been victimized include UCF’s Student Care Services, UCF Victims Services, UCF Counseling and Psychological Services, as well as UCF Health Care Services, all of which are privileged and confidential.
“We have had people actually come and say, ‘Wow, I went to one of your workshops and realized that there were options, where as before, I did not,’” Marsh said.
The consent workshop is part of the violence prevention certificate series, which is a series of four workshops in Green Dot Training. Green Dot is a bystander intervention initiative that aims to show that students do care about violence on campus.
An active bystander is a person who not only witnesses an event take place, but takes steps to step in and speak up.
“We provide all of this information so that if someone’s friend comes to them, saying that they have been sexually assaulted, they will encourage them to at least call the victim advocate hotline, if not report it,” Marsh said.
When asked if these kinds of workshops aid in helping reduce sexually violent acts, licensed mental health counselor Julie Wolf said she believes it would.
“I would be optimistic that any type of increased awareness that also empowers potential victims would be beneficial in reducing sexually violent acts. I also think that it could be beneficial for potential perpetrators to have an increased awareness of the significance and severity of the consequences of sexual violence from from an emotional, social, and legal perspective.”
Consent workshops will continue to take place on-campus over the next two months. Visit Let’s Be Clear website for more information.
