What is Consent?

Consent is a voluntary agreement, made without coercion, between persons with decision-making capacity, knowledge, understanding, and autonomy. 

• Consent applies to all forms of interaction. It creates a space where the safety and agency of all parties is honored by using healthy communication and negotiation to craft informed boundaries.
  • ​It is a part of everyday life, present in all forms of human interaction (not just sex).
• Consent, explicit and implicit, is dependent on the capacity of the parties involved, the context of the situation, and can be revoked at any time. It is a process of constant and collaborative discovery.
• Consent allows someone to ask for something and receive an honest and authentic answer. It exists where: 
  • The person answering has enough capacity, information, agency, and ability to give an honest and authentic answer without coercion or undue influence. 
  • The person asking has enough capacity, information, agency, and ability to receive an answer without creating a coercive environment.
• Honoring autonomy (the right each person has to decide what happens to one’s own body, mind, and spirit) is a defining feature of consent. 

Consent is also a way of life, centered around the belief that everyone has the right to give an honest and authentic answer to what they choose to do and a responsibility to accept the answers given by others. 

#ConsentIsEssential    #ConsentIsForEveryone

Additional Resources:

• More on the Complexity of Consent
• What is a Consent Incident?​