Queen’s and the AMS will host a week of events focused on consent and sexual violence prevention from Sept. 19 to 26.
Consent Week is a national initiative held at postsecondary institutions across Canada aimed at raising awareness about consent, healthy relationships, sexual violence prevention, and available supports.
“Consent Week is an opportunity to talk not only about what consent is, but also about the cultures, systems, attitudes, and inequalities that shape people’s experiences of sexuality, relationships, safety, and harm,” said Rebecca Rappeport, Queen’s sexual violence prevention and response, education and outreach coordinator, in a statement to The Journal.
Rappeport said the week is about encouraging members of the University community to think about their own role in shaping campus culture.
Queen’s will host programming throughout the week, covering topics including communication, autonomy, pleasure, respect and accountability, as well as ways to support people who experience harm.
Among the featured events is Exploring Disabled Sexuality: Cultivating Consent Culture for All, a virtual discussion taking place Sept. 22 from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Guest speaker Rachele Manett, a sexuality educator specializing in disabled sexuality and certified therapeutic recreation specialist, will lead the session.
This talk will examine consent through disabled and queer perspectives. The event will include a lecture-style presentation followed by an anonymous Q&A and is open to Queen’s students, staff, and faculty at no cost.
Throughout the week, the AMS will also be hosting programming, kicking off with a Red Flag/Green Flag Movie Night on Sept. 19. This event will be hosted in collaboration with the AMS Commission of Campus Affairs, Residence Society, and Walkhome, according to statement sent to The Journal by AMS Social Issues Commissioner Eshal Ali.
Attendees will watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and use red and green glow sticks to identify healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours. Ali said the event is designed to make conversations about consent more accessible by connecting them to familiar media and everyday interactions.
On Monday, Sept. 21, Common Ground Coffeehouse (CoGro) will launch a tea campaign in the ARC based on the popular tea and consent video analogy. Students can speak with the Social Issues Commission to learn about campus supports and receive a voucher for tea.
Queen’s White Ribbon, the campus chapter of White Ribbon Canada, will be distributing white ribbons at the launch, an internationally recognized symbol of commitment to ending gender‑based violence. Partners will also be joining, including Health Promotion, Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Services, and the Sexual Assault Centre Kingston.
Take Back the Night, an international movement to end sexual violence in all forms, makes its annual return and will take place on Thursday, Sept. 24, at Confederation Basin from 4:30 to 8:30 pm.
Before joining the city‑wide march, students are invited to make signs at Queen’s Pub as part of the ongoing FRIES campaign —meaning freely given, reversible, informed, enthusiastic, and specific.
Ali said that Take Back the Night is not just an awareness event, but a protest and a show of solidarity.
“It creates space for survivors and advocates to speak and for the community to collectively demand the right to move through our campuses, streets, and public spaces without fear of violence,” she said.
While this week offers a dedicated moment for education and activism, Ali said that the work does not end on Sept. 26. A culture of consent requires year-long participation from everyone.
Tags
AMS Advocacy, Consent week, Sexual violence prevention
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