May 2, 2019

CAASE’s Prevention Program, which encourages youth to become allies in ending sexual harm, is in the final stretch of another busy academic year. We partnered with 5 new schools and added a fifth session to our signature curriculum, Empowering Youth to End Sexual Exploitation. The revamped program puts more emphasis on consent, highlighting a variety of relationships and situations. It challenges students to think about consent beyond what may be illegal and instead as a necessity for healthy sexual interactions.

By spending more time with students and increasing the number of youth we’ve educated this year, CAASE has learned even more about how we can best engage and teach young people. One of our biggest takeaways is that the topic of “consent” needs to be central to any discourse about sexual harm and healthy sex education. It’s evident that youth are craving real, authentic discussions about sex. This fact is reflected in the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve received from students and teachers about our consent workshop. The conversations it generates have been met with interest, curiosity, and maturity. We’re so thrilled to have the privilege to facilitate this dialogue, and we’re impressed every day by students’ insightful contributions to the content.

Here’s what students are saying in response to the additional content on consent:

• “The whole section of consent was important to me. I got a whole different perspective now and I know I have to be sure of my answer.”
• “The information we had on consent stood out the most to me – sometimes people are manipulated into saying yes, but we should make sure they actually want to.”
• “Just because the situation isn’t illegal, doesn’t mean it is consensual. I know to ask for consent so that I don’t hurt someone I care about.”

It’s not just students that are interested in learning about consent. Our single-session workshop on the topic was requested more than any other by teachers and administrators. In fact, we facilitated it 59 times! Our Prevention Programs have received incredible support from our partner schools, and we’re going to keep this momentum going so that youth can be empowered to eliminate sexual harm in all its forms.

If you’re interested in requesting our Empowering Young Men/Young Women to End Sexual Exploitation series or any of our single-session workshops, please contact our Prevention Education Manager Ryan Spooner at rspooner@caase.org. Our Prevention programs are already in high demand for the 2019-2020 academic year, so be sure to make your request early!

Want to support the incredible work of our Prevention Program?  Make a donation to the Race for CAASE Team today. Better yet, join us on the course June 7th! Learn more.