Building a Culture of Consent
introductions what are we asking here? what is accountability in radical spaces. how does consent apply to organizational structure
who are the presenters" organizers around issues of sexual violence; focused on prevention; what can be done earlier -- how does transformative justice apply (how do structures contribute to cause harm) how to respond to sexual violence without bringing in cops and prisons
starting...
discussion: when did you first hear of the term concent. field trip forms signed by parents consent over your actions, parents own options
consent as a concept grows out of medicine and research. contract to wave liability in case something bad happens
someone in power getting permission from someone in a lower position of power is the legal framework of consent
this was integrated by the feminist movement into how consent defines power and control. Marriage contact as consent, no individual instance consent. so consent was radical when demanded to be applied to all encounters and for there to be the idea of positive or active consent -- not just the absence of a no.
consent is generally an actor that wants something someone else that can say okay, I'll let you do that
this shows in organizations when the person in power then gets the consent for things from their staff/underlings.
"are you willing to do X" not "what is the things we should do together"?
another angle was the gay men's bdsm community in the 20s and they needed to define sets of rules about consent that were clear and explicit
positive models of consent come out of many different king communities
yes no not sure/maybe (depending on the context) ---- conditional yes
this an apply organizationally via onboarding and being given a chance to select which things that the org does the person is willing to do.
lack of consent comes out in demands for long work hours;
consent in tech comes from a formalistic legalistic formulation; low standard of consent;
culture of consent vs the technicality of consent
in an organizational context power dynamics and subtle cooersian are important factors that impact the ability to consent
what is power: influence over others decisions consideration given to their needs weighted input -- putting the opinion of those in power over the others
look into littlesis -- tracks funding and exposes big brother
littlesis makes power maps.
the ability to express your will over other's opposition
(coersion, assault)
good power vs bad leverage of power decentralized power/collaborative vs hegemonic power/empire
break out group to talk about power in our organizations.
report back: power in relationships is perceived very differently by different parties in the discussion difference between formal and perceived power can be different can't ignore that power is always there, don't ignore it or pretend it does not exist, how to bring it out into the light and acknowledge it
privilege is "capital to leverage" to become more in line with your values
helpful tool:
@timetospringup
power dynamics vary decision to decision, issue to issue
is power a 0 sum game (see saw)
there are other models
example
positional power: supervisor staff (supervisor has much power) gender power: woman man (in this example the man has power because it's a very gendered environment) racial power black lighter skinned latinx (racial power moves towards lighter skin) social power outgoing shy (power to the more verbose)
overall power might average out, but the differences are still there so this could be very volatile relationship
by sketching these different lines of power it can help a negotiation or mediation so each party can see the differences and come to respect each others roles and authority
getting people to see the different powers that exist in a relationship can be transformative
focusing on your own oppressions can be done to hide from accountability so simply getting people to acknowledge the dynamic and not feel shame about it and accept the dynamic can be an agent of change
some of the tools used :
formalizing decision making practices naming which practice for each type of decision
3 teired model of restorative justice
cyclical (conversations)/ community building affinity group/focus group when there is an active ongoing harm
values are things you want to do; practice is how that is put into play in the community
intentionally designing your mission and values are critical to developing a healthy power dynamic