RESOURCES

A social movement started by Tarana Burke in 2006 advocating for survivors of sexual harassment or violence to speak out about their experiences in order to center and support them.

Informed, voluntary, and mutual agreements among all participants to engage in an activity. Frequently used when referring to a sexual activity. Consent can be given by words or actions, as long as those words or actions create clear permission regarding willingness to engage in the activity. Consent cannot be give when an individual is impaired by alcohol, drugs, or other conditions that affect one’s ability to understand and agree to engaging in a behavior.

The age a person is legally able to consent to sexual activity. It varies from state to state, but ranges from 14 to 18 years of age in the United States

An assault is the act of inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action.

An individual’s right to make decisions regarding one’s own body, including deciding at any point who may or may not touch their body in any way, also referred to as bodily sovereignty.

Guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave towards them and how they will respond when someone passes those limits.

Cancel culture is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – whether it be online, on social media, or in person, as a consequence of something they have said or done. Those who are subject to this ostracism are said to have been "canceled".

The intimidation of a victim to compel the individual to do some act against his or her will by the use of psychological pressure, physical force, or threats.

A society or an environment in which conformity, compliance and authority are valued over an individual’s needs, desires or integrity.

The attitudes and beliefs we have about a person or group on a conscious level. This includes being aware of personal prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way that is considered to be unfair. An individual, group, or institution may hold conscious biases, which are also known as explicit biases.

An agreement about how two or more people are going to interact or share space together. These agreements are clear, informed, voluntary, sober, act and person-specific, ongoing, mutual, active, and come directly from the individuals engaging in the activities.  

A somewhat controversial term used to denote a consent incident that was not intentional. Determining intent is relevant to repairing harm. However, “accident” should not be used to minimize or downplay the impact on the person harmed.

A society or environment in which creating explicit agreements, looking for common ground and respecting boundaries is the norm, for both sexual contact and everyday activities.

Any occurrence where consent was violated, or was fuzzy or unclear. While it is used somewhat interchangeably with “consent violation,” this term is meant to be more neutral in its assumption of intent, and include incidents across the range of intentional, unskillful, and accidental. Impact is still the most important consideration in creating repair.

A transgression or infringement on a stated agreement, or proceeding to take action on another person in the absence of consent.

Hiding what you really want from yourself and/or a loved one, while finding covert strategies to get (at least pieces of) what you want. These covert strategies range from the innocuous to the destructive, and occur as a means to avoid vulnerability and shame.

Permission given for texting, sharing on-line info or images

A trail of data you create while using the internet. This includes the websites you visit, emails you send, postings and information you submit to on-line services like social media, shopping, game and dating apps.

A dominant culture includes the lifestyles, customs, manners, and morals that override others within a particular political, social or economic entity, in which multiple cultures are present.

Occurs when a person says or signals yes to something, but is psychologically disassociated, or coerced or manipulated into doing so.

The art of making experiences more accessible to your participants than they would be without you. To make something easier, to bring about.

A learned trauma response in which a person reverts to people-pleasing to diffuse conflict and reestablish a sense of safety.

Also known as “tonic immobility”, this is an autonomic response to extreme stress or perceived danger. As with the fight and flight responses, it is an instantaneous reaction of the amygdala, not the conscious mind.

Gender may refer to both gender roles and gender identities. The social and cultural role of each sex within a given society is one part of gender. People often develop their gender roles in response to their environment, including family interactions, the media, peers, and education. There are also a spectrum of gender identities that can change over time and vary widely within and across cultures. Western culture tends to conceive of gender as binary. However many other cultures have three or more genders. In contrast, the term sex is used to indicate the biological differences between male, female, and intersex people.

Social process by which people are treated differently and disadvantageously, under similar circumstances, on the basis of gender.

The cultural or social expectations of how people should act, think, and/or feel based on the gender they are perceived to be.

A pattern of, or compulsion toward, agreeing to requests without pausing to consider the impact or implications on one’s time, energy or resources.

Unwelcome or offensive behavior by one person to another that can be sexual or nonsexual in nature. Examples include making unwanted sexual comments or jokes to another person, sending unwanted sexual texts, bullying, or intimidation.

Activities, curricula, language, and other practices in the educational environment that attempt to ensure every student’s access to and participation in learning.

A general process in which individuals serve as examples for others, exhibiting the behavior to be imitated by the others. These examples are internalized without comment or discussion.

Parentification is the process of role reversal whereby a child is obliged to act as parent to their own parent or sibling. In extreme cases, the child is used to fill the void of the alienating parent's emotional life.

The right or ability to do something that is given by someone who has the power to decide if it will be allowed. Implies gatekeeping, authority and/or a power differential. While permission is a part of consent, consent is not permission. One gets permission. Together, we create consent.

A "power dynamic" is the way different people or different groups of people interact with each other. It may refer to how one person leverages their power over another, or to the interplay of different expressions of and bids for power among people.

a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group. This may be formalized via rules, laws or policy, or be informal as a custom or social norm.

Racialization or ethnicization is a political process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such. To categorize, marginalize, or regard according to race.

A type of sexual assault that involves vaginal, anal, or oral sex using a body part or an object without consent. Rape is a form of sexual assault, but not all sexual assault is rape.

A society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse.

The sum of learned skills that enables us to navigate relationships well.

Restorative Justice is an approach focused on repairing harm when wrongdoing or injustice occurs in a community. Restorative justice centers support for the victim, and involves the offender, their social networks, justice agencies, and the community.

The sharing of sexually explicit images or video without consent, and as a means of retaliation. These images or videos may be made with or without the knowledge of the victim.

Sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or images. Consensual sexting may still create a legal problem for people who are under-age, as sexually explicit images of young people are considered child porn in many jurisdictions.

Any sort of unwanted sexual contact, including but not limited to, force, threats, or taking advantage of an individual, often over a period of time. A single act of sexual abuse is usually referred to as a “sexual assault.”

Any unwanted sex act committed by a person or people against another person. Examples include, but are not limited to, nonconsensual kissing, groping or fondling; attempted rape; forcing someone to perform a sexual act; and rape. Specific definitions of sexual assault vary from state to state and from country to country.

Any unwanted comment, gesture, or action that is sexual in nature that makes someone feel afraid, embarrassed, uncomfortable or ashamed. The intention of the person doing the action doesn’t matter, it’s the negative impact the action has that makes something sexual harassment.

Sexual violence is an umbrella term that refers to any form of non-consensual sexual behavior, including sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, and sexual violence facilitated through technology.

The practice of parents posting content about their children on internet platforms. The term covers pitfalls resulting from the spectrum of typical family sharing all the way to parents being exploitative and manipulative (eg, blogging or vlogging).

the process of internalizing norms and ideologies of the societies in which we grow up or participate. Socialization involves both conscious and unconscious learning and teaching and is a means for social and cultural continuity. Socialization is a part of developmental psychology.

The view that all people deserve to enjoy the same economic, political, and social rights and opportunities, regardless of race, sex, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, sexual identity, ability, or any other characteristics.

A series of practices and philosophies designed to create change in social systems. Mostly, they are alternatives to criminal justice in cases of interpersonal violence, or are used for dealing with socioeconomic issues in societies transitioning away from conflict or repression. At its most basic, transformative justice seeks to respond to violence without creating more violence and/or by engaging in harm reduction to lessen the violence.

This is an approach to teaching and facilitation that acknowledges the effects of individual and systemic trauma on participants, and considers how instruction and participation can be adjusted in order to ensure a safer and more supportive learning environment.

Social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness. Studies show that we all hold unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups, stemming from the tendency to organize social worlds by categorizing, in accordance with cultural and historical context. Unconscious bias is also known as implicit bias.

A person who speaks or acts in support of an individual or cause, particularly someone who intervenes on behalf of a person being attacked or bullied.

Victim blaming is a ubiquitous attitude in the current culture of coercion. Victims of a crime or any wrongful act are held partially or entirely at fault for the harm that was done to them.