Laurentian University hosts week-long series of events highlighting the importance of consent

Sudbury’s Laurentian University has begun Consent Week 2023, a week-long series of events and workshops surrounding education on the importance of consent. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News Northern Ontario)

Sudbury’s Laurentian University has begun Consent Week 2023, a week-long series of events and workshops surrounding education on the importance of consent.

The workshops are designed to educate staff and students on sexual violence while promoting healthy relationships.

One of many booths setup on the Laurentian University campus for Consent Week 2023. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News Northern Ontario)Stephanie Harris is with the Equity Diversity and Human Rights (EDHR) office at Laurentian and is also leading a few of the workshops. She said Consent Week is an opportunity for the community on campus to build awareness and encourage conversations.

“Conversations around what consent is, what it means, what consent looks like, in different contexts,” Harris said.

“So we’re looking at intimate relationships, but we’re also looking at what consent means beyond sex, so healthy relationships, even friendships.”

Estella Bouchard is a fourth-year student majoring in biochemistry and minoring in psychology at Laurentian. She told CTV News that she has been working with EDHR’s ‘Consent is Simple’ group for the past two years. She said she is passionate about educating people on the importance of consent due to her personal experiences.

“You just go with the flow of things because you haven’t learned the skills to set boundaries yet, so I think that’s a big issue,” Bouchard said.

She said the topic of consent impacts everyone.

“The majority of people go through these things and I think there’s so much stigma that we don’t talk about it enough,” said Bouchard.

She said she believes conversations about consent and sexual violence are essential to reducing stigma.

“If we don’t talk about them, they just kind of get shoved down, and we’re not going to make any progress in society if we don’t actually engage in conversations and make it a safe space for people to talk about,” Bouchard said.

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Shannon Goffin is also with the EDHR on campus. She said a large part of the week is ensuring students understand what consent is.

“Consent is just about asking and making sure that when students are engaging in any kind of activity, that we’re looking for that enthusiastic ‘Yes’ and that shared respect in terms of making sure that consent is navigated in all aspects of our life,” Goffin said.

She said the annual week started because of a survey given to students at all universities and colleges across Ontario in 2018 asking questions about harassment and sexual violence on campus.

“We know that across the university sector, 63 per cent of students disclosed an experience of sexual harassment and 23 per cent of students disclosed a non-consensual-sexual encounter in that past academic year,” said Goffin.

She said that sexual violence is still an issue on campus and raising awareness about it is important as we enter life post-pandemic.

“It’s even more important to address these and try to build that consent culture, so we’re really focused on preventing it,” Goffin said.

“We want to make sure students are in a safe environment here at Laurentian.”

Some of the workshops will involve conversations about sexual health, consent beyond intimate relationships and a panel of discussions with different scenarios to illicit conversation among students.

The public is invited to attend an event Tuesday at 7 p.m., where Jungle Flower, the keynote speaker, will share her experience healing from abuse and sexual violence.The free event will include spoken word and poetry. Registration is required.

Happening on Tuesday!!!! Consent Week Keynote: Reclaim Your Voice: Storytelling by Jungle Flower : Jungle Flower boldly...

Posted by Equity, Diversity and Human Rights Office on Sunday, 22 January 2023

For more information about Laurentian University’s Consent Week, visit the university’s website or a full calendar of events can be found here.