6 tips for advocating & organizing community action for consent education
So, you want to organize a social justice campaign? Here are 6 tips from one of the most globally successful consent education campaigns, @teachusconsent! →
Meet with local leaders
Ask to meet with your local politician, principal, community leader, or all of the above! More often than not, they’ll be thankful that you took the time to share your experience, thoughts, and insights with them.
2. Keep the narrative about culture and change, not individuals
The media can dramatize victims and perpetrators of sexual violence for clicks and sales and frame sexual violence as an isolated issue. Focus the need for consent education on is its ability to create environments that teach healthy relationships and reduce sexual violence.
3. Contextualize the problem
If you’re an advocate for consent education, many of the facts and statistics surrounding sexual violence may seem obvious to you. For others, it could be completely new, and sometimes unbelievable.
Have a one or two page document that’s simple to read, well referenced, and that you can take with you to meetings.
4. Have a simple call to action
A call to action (CTA) gives your audience one simple way they can join the fight for consent education. The most effective CTAs are concise, clear, and accessible. If the language is too complex or there are too many CTAs, your audience may feel overwhelmed and unable to take action.
5. Care for yourself
Sexual violence (and other advocacy topics) can be draining. Make sure you switch off when you need to and take care of yourself.
You may also need to protect yourself legally if you are dealing with testimonies of sexual violence. Try to find a pro-bono lawyer or someone qualified who can advise you before starting a public campaign.
6. Ask for mentorship & advice
This work is not meant to be done alone. Set up an advisory group of people who are committed to the campaign and to your wellbeing. Think of people who you look up to, have run similar campaigns, or are leaders in the field and ask them for 20 minutes of their time to share their learnings with you.
Teach Us Consent ran one of the most successful consent education campaigns in the world.
Since 2021, over 44,000 Australians have signed their petition calling for holistic consent education to be mandated in Australia, with more than 6,600 people sharing their stories of sexual assault on the website.
ℹ️ Teach Us Consent is a movement founded by activist Chanel Contos (@chanelc) lobbying for and providing holistic consent and sexuality education. They ran one of the most successful consent education campaigns in the world, resulting in Australia’s 8 Ministers of Education unanimously agreeing to mandate consent education in Australian schools, every year, from Kindergarten until year 10.
