October 20, 2017
Speaker emphasizes prevention and fun in talk on sexual consent
Students, staff and faculty are invited to attend talk on sexual consent as part of University of Waterloo’s #AskatUW campaign
Photo: standret/istock/Thinkstock
Students, faculty and community members are invited to join the campaign at the University of Waterloo around sexual consent. The campaign, launched by the Equity Office, is called #AskatUW and includes an expert keynote talk, an art installation and poster campaign.
Keynote Presentation – October 23rd
The Farrah Khan Keynote presentation aims to promote dialogue about consent on campus. The presentation will take place on Monday October 23rd at 3:30 pm at the Theatre of the Arts, in the Modern Languages building. There will be a panel discussion and reception to follow.
Farrah Khan is the inaugural Sexual Violence Support and Education Coordinator at Ryerson University. Khan is nationally recognized for her work as a counsellor, educator, and policy advisor on consent education. She has also developed a bystander intervention program and colouring book titled, We Believe You, for sexual assault survivors and allies.
Poster Campaign
Roly Webster, Waterloo’s director of athletics and recreation, is just one of the leaders on campus to be featured in the poster campaign. Webster said, “We have such a platform in higher education to start these conversations about consent . . . We are ultimately trying to encourage these conversations and inquiries so there is better education and awareness about this important topic.”
The first poster was released in September and features Joey Champigny, a doctor of pharmacy candidate and men’s varsity hockey player at Waterloo. New posters are being released every Friday for a period of six weeks.
“It’s important to initiate conversations about consent on campus because it’s important not to be silent about sexual assault and rape culture,” said Gail Spencer, executive manager, University of Waterloo Staff Association and consent advocate. “My hope is that the campaign will change normalized attitudes that we have. It will help to change people’s ability to speak up when they see something happen - and to be able to verbalize what they have seen.”
Art Installation
Also kicking off the campaign this month was the “Consent Clothesline” an art installation to encourage dialogue about the importance of consent. The event was well received and the art work that was created by students and will be available on the Equity Office webpage in November.
Sexual violence support and resources are available on the Equity Office Website.
