Students and staff of the University of Kent gathered on Friday 25 November, to discuss and reflect on sex-positivity and consent through a creative medium.
At Kent, we aim to create a positive and inclusive community for all staff and students and to help each other stay safe. The Consent. Get It. Full Stop. Campaign was launched in 2021 to cultivate and strengthen awareness and understanding of consent on campus and to continue working to prevent harassment and sexual misconduct from taking place within our community. We are striving to take transparent and proactive approaches to create this positive culture shift, highlighting the importance of events, such as the one that took place in November on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
On Friday 25 November 2022, the University of Kent launched its second sex-positive consent event: Celebrate Consent – Craft, Books and Action! It was a chance for students and staff to meet in the new Nexus space in Templeman Library for an afternoon filled with arts and crafts and opportunities to learn and discuss consent in an open and safe environment with representatives present from the Consent Campaign, Metro, Respect the No and Kent Union. Resources around consent and sex-positivity were available for individuals to take away or reflect on, such as a sex-positive booklist, bookmarks, torches, condoms, and informative leaflets. Did you participate? Please tell us what you thought by filling in a quick online survey about the event by 16 December to help us shape future activity in this area.
Here is what students including committee members from Respect The No had to say about the event:
“I found it very relaxing, especially as we head to deadline season, and it was a great outlet for my creativity that I can’t express during my studies it also allowed me to speak and meet new people” Cerys Barton
“I found the event incredibly enjoyable and the range of arts and crafts activities available let me do things that I haven’t done in years such as the bracelet making and the bookmark colouring. I also think that it was a great way to explore the topic of consent in a way that it wasn’t forceful everything was laid out in a way where you could take it in your own time and bring resources home to look up after if you wanted too. Overall, a very enjoyable and insightful experience” Kristina Gonzato
If you would like to learn more about consent, don’t forget to check out our sex-positive book collection. Stay up to date on the Consent Campaign by following #ConsentGetIt on social media.
Student Support and Wellbeing
The Consent Campaign is overseen by the University’s Specialist Wellbeing Manager, who has expertise in helping students who have been victims of sexual assault, bullying or hate incidents. For more information on this team and how they can support students, please see the Sexual Assault and Harassment pages and follow @UniKentSSW on Instagram for news on other events and peer support groups taking place throughout the year.
If you’d like to comment on or contribute to a podcast or article for Student Services, email us at StudentServicesWeb@kent.ac.uk.
Written by Kamila Filipek and Natalia Crisanti, 8.12.22