Consent in Action Discussion Questions
-What does consent mean to you?
-Is it important to practice consent? Why or why not?
-What are ways we can practice consent?
-How does open communication, respectful listening, and checking in affect your interactions with your partner or partners?
-How might someone’s abuse history affect their views on sexuality and consent? How can thinking about someone’s abuse history inform the way you practice consent?
-Do you think it’s possible to give consent while intoxicated?
-If you feel violated or if you feel like you violated someone, what should you do? What can you do to prevent this in the future?
-Why can it be so hard for people to practice consent?
-How can you become more comfortable talking about issues of sexuality and consent? How can you help your partner become more comfortable?
-Do you talk about who’s responsible for ensuring safe sex and birth control practices?
-What can we do to make consent a more comfortable topic? With yourself? With your partners? With the community?
-What can we do to end sexual violence in our community?
More questions…
-Have you had sexual experiences while intoxicated? Did you feel that it was consensual? Did you talk about it with your partner?
-Do you think it’s okay to start something sexual with someone who is sleeping or trying to sleep? What about if it is your partner?
-Have you ever tried to talk someone into doing something they might not have wanted to do?
-What should you do when you’re unsure if your partner wants to continue? What should you do when you’re unsure if you want to continue?
-Whose responsibility is it to change the course of activity if your partner doesn’t seem in to it?
-If you achieve consent once, does that mean you can stop asking for consent in the future?
-Are you clear about your own intentions?
-Do your standards of consent change when it comes to a person who has a reputation of promiscuity?
-Do you put yourself into situations that give you an excuse for touching someone who might otherwise say no? For example, dancing, getting drunk around them, sleeping next to them.
-What are your expectations about sex in a relationship? How should you express them to your partner?
-Are you comfortable talking about issues of sexuality and consent with your partner when you’re in nonsexual situations? What about with your friends?
-Do you think only men are perpetrators, and that only women are victims?
