by Emma Atkinson and Rachel Drake

Welcome back to the Corner, lovely readers. Join us as we ponder the nature of consent.

Good consent will lead inexorably to good relations (trust us, and try it out for yourself). And, good consent starts with the participants’ understanding of their own and others’ capacity to give that consent.

We’ve talked a lot about capacity and how important it is to be able to check in with yourself and with someone else. Think about how you’ll remember to assess your capacity before and during interactions. The acronym HALT might help: try not to get too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired since they all will sap some of your precious capacity.

How do you prefer to check in with others? One way to check on another's capacity, while preserving their autonomy, is to use one of the following questions: “How are you feeling right now?” or “Do you have the bandwidth to talk?" or "Do you want to check in now or later?” How you can best communicate with your partner(s) starts with checking in to see if they are receptive and have the capacity to share information. 

Sharing information and exploring the details of an interaction is another important component of healthy consensual interactions. Next time, the pillar of "Information" is exactly what we’ll be discussing.  Aren’t you glad you’re on this fascinating trek with us through the wild and wooly (and wonderful) world of consent!

Please direct your consent-related questions to: info@thecspc.org.