Just Ask - Don't assume consent
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Just Ask - Don't assume consent
Consent is the necessary act of agreement between two or more parties where they accept to do something. This could be consent for agreeing to let your child take part in a school trip (one person agrees on the other request to participate in, here, a school trip). In this context, we will, for the most part, refer to sexual consent.
You can never presume someone is giving consent. No means no, don't try to pressure your significant other into giving you consent. Another important point to note is that just because someone doesn't say no doesn't mean yes. You need the solid verification of "yes", which shows transparency in their agreement towards any activity.
Sexual assault is when one party fails to give consent or strongly denies but the other party overlooks this, and they physically force them to participate. 1 in 3 women get sexually or physically assaulted based on data collected by WHO, which is a huge number.
There are various things that girls and women are told not to do by their loved ones to prevent them from being sexually assaulted. Perhaps you've been told these things, "cover-up"; "your dress is way too short", "you can't go out at night"; "you should speak softly, don't raise your voice", "you're asking for it"; etc. But did ever occur that women aren't the problem? Why should we change the way we dress or behave because someone can't keep their eyes on themselves?
These statements may come from people who care and are concerned for your well-being but they are completely inappropriate and unsuitable. Why have we normalized telling women these things? Even the little things like adjusting a friend's bra strap to "cover it up" are just preposterous.
We shouldn't have to adapt to living in constant fear of just walking our dog at night. I've even encountered incidents where people told me they could see "stuff" and how I should cover up because some people don't like it but why were you looking?
There is no excuse for sexually assaulting anyone, no matter how they behaved or what "idea" you received, if there was no consent, you are in the wrong. Don't blame women for an immature man's lack of self-control and stupidity. Teach your sons.
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