An educator from WOAR: Philadelphia Center Against Sexual Violence discussed healthy relationships and consent with the tenth and eleventh grades this week and last during English class, activity and advisory blocks.
WOAR is the biggest rape crisis center in Pennsylvania. In addition to offering free support for victims of sexual violence, the organization offers training programs for schools, workplaces, and the community. Their mission is to “eliminate all forms of sexual violence through specialized treatment services, comprehensive prevention education programs, and advocacy for the rights of victims of sexual assault.”
The junior class workshop began with a “bumper cars” activity, in which students shook hands with as many people as possible over three rounds, each with different instructions.
First, students were instructed to give normal handshakes. Then, students had to choose how they wanted to shake hands through verbal communication. During third round, students had to communicate silently. And in the fourth round, it was up to students how we wanted to greet each other and whether we would talk or not.
While this activity was met with skepticism by many students, the workshop leader from WOAR explained that the activity was a metaphor for consent, not just in physical intimacy, but in all areas of life.
The leader emphasized that consent is not only verbal, but also comes from body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. Consent requires partners to consider state of mind and power dynamics. She aimed to expand students’ view of consent from a simple verbal ask to a holistic look at everything at play.
One junior who wished to remain anonymous said of the workshop, “I think the content that they wanted to get across is really important and something especially high schoolers should be reminded of, but it felt like they had some trouble getting people to take it seriously.”
“It’s clear there’s discomfort, which is where people start joking around about it. And I don’t think people do that to be disrespectful. I think that it can feel embarrassing to talk about,” said Dean of Eleventh Grade Katie Bechtold.
By speaking with confidence, the leader created an honest and vulnerable environment, which slowly encouraged students to share their thoughts.
“By the end of that hour, we got there, where people started settling in, and were having better, having more thoughtful conversations about it,” Ms. Bechtold said. “We’re starting the conversation. These are conversations that are critical …We’ve all been doing this a long time and care about kids … and have interacted with students who’ve experienced myriad challenges and situations.”
The administration team held many meetings and extensive discussions about how to start a conversation on this topic. Organizations and educators were thoroughly researched and vetted so that students can be well-informed and comfortable engaging in ongoing conversation about difficult topics.
“There’s no way that people are innately born understanding all of these things, right? So we’re trying to give you some language for how to identify situations, how to navigate situations, and how to understand,” said Bechtold.
