Why consent matters for your practice?
As a service worker, you might be wondering what consent has to do with your support work, especially if your service falls outside sexual health and relationships. But consent is actually an essential consideration for any service – whether you work on issues like housing, substance use, poverty, immigration or any others. We know from Scottish research that women involved in selling or exchanging sex use all types of services, even if they don’t disclose their involvement. This is why consent can be a useful tool to gain a deeper understanding of women’s realities, and a way to open conversations if a woman hasn’t yet disclosed.
Below we have put together a list of reasons why considering consent can improve how you respond to women.
Below we have put together a list of reasons why considering consent can improve how you respond to women.
🔀To help you to understand the dynamics of sexual transactions
Consenting to sex means having choice and the freedom and capacity to make that choice. But when we apply this understanding to a sexual transaction, where money or other goods are exchanged, things get complex.
Understanding sexual transactions from the perspective of consent will help you to better understand the dynamics at play when a woman meets a sex buyer – the pressures she might be under, the different understandings of consenting, and the influence that third parties like pimps and brothel managers can have on the sexual encounter. Above all, it is a tool to move away from assuming that consent is a given when sex is paid for. It is a prompt to explore women’s individual experiences to reduce the risk of harm and prioritise their safety.
🛟To get to know women’s full support needs and reduce harm
Asking about consent is an opportunity to really get to know the needs of a woman and to respond with practical considerations around her safety. For example, when discussing a woman’s encounters with men, you can ask: how safe did you feel? Have you ever felt pressurised to do something you hadn’t agreed to? Has someone tried to pay you less or refused to pay you for the sex? Asking questions around consent can help you to assess a woman’s everyday reality of selling sex and any immediate risks. With this information you can tailor the support and explore safety measures. Speaking to a woman about consent is also a way to reminder her that she has rights, including the right to refuse sex even if she was paid for it..
❤️To build trusting support relationships
Discussing consent can remove barriers and build trust between yourself and the woman you are supporting. Sex and especially involvement in selling sex carries a lot of stigma. It can be a taboo topic that people feel apprehensive to discuss. For women, disclosing these experiences can feel difficult, especially if previous service responses have been judgemental or inadequate. By discussing consent, you are helping to remove a barrier and a worry. It is a way to communicate that you are there to listen and not judge. This can start building the trust women need to open up about their experiences. Over time, this can in turn mean you respond to the woman’s needs more fully and effectively.
🔔Consent is a value that should underpin all of your practice
Whilst we’ve discussed the role of consent in understanding the realities of women involved in selling or exchanging sex, consent itself is an essential approach when delivering any kind of support. As service providers, we must ensure our practice actively seeks informed consent and understands that this can be withdrawn at any point. Consent is a value that should guide how we relate to and respond to women in any situation. It is part of a trauma-informed approach and a way of putting women at the centre and in control of their support journey.
If you haven't already, we invite you to explore our framework of consent, which will guide you in understanding the different considerations women face in sexual transactions.
Consenting to sex means having choice and the freedom and capacity to make that choice. But when we apply this understanding to a sexual transaction, where money or other goods are exchanged, things get complex.
Understanding sexual transactions from the perspective of consent will help you to better understand the dynamics at play when a woman meets a sex buyer – the pressures she might be under, the different understandings of consenting, and the influence that third parties like pimps and brothel managers can have on the sexual encounter. Above all, it is a tool to move away from assuming that consent is a given when sex is paid for. It is a prompt to explore women’s individual experiences to reduce the risk of harm and prioritise their safety.
🛟To get to know women’s full support needs and reduce harm
Asking about consent is an opportunity to really get to know the needs of a woman and to respond with practical considerations around her safety. For example, when discussing a woman’s encounters with men, you can ask: how safe did you feel? Have you ever felt pressurised to do something you hadn’t agreed to? Has someone tried to pay you less or refused to pay you for the sex? Asking questions around consent can help you to assess a woman’s everyday reality of selling sex and any immediate risks. With this information you can tailor the support and explore safety measures. Speaking to a woman about consent is also a way to reminder her that she has rights, including the right to refuse sex even if she was paid for it..
❤️To build trusting support relationships
Discussing consent can remove barriers and build trust between yourself and the woman you are supporting. Sex and especially involvement in selling sex carries a lot of stigma. It can be a taboo topic that people feel apprehensive to discuss. For women, disclosing these experiences can feel difficult, especially if previous service responses have been judgemental or inadequate. By discussing consent, you are helping to remove a barrier and a worry. It is a way to communicate that you are there to listen and not judge. This can start building the trust women need to open up about their experiences. Over time, this can in turn mean you respond to the woman’s needs more fully and effectively.
🔔Consent is a value that should underpin all of your practice
Whilst we’ve discussed the role of consent in understanding the realities of women involved in selling or exchanging sex, consent itself is an essential approach when delivering any kind of support. As service providers, we must ensure our practice actively seeks informed consent and understands that this can be withdrawn at any point. Consent is a value that should guide how we relate to and respond to women in any situation. It is part of a trauma-informed approach and a way of putting women at the centre and in control of their support journey.
If you haven't already, we invite you to explore our framework of consent, which will guide you in understanding the different considerations women face in sexual transactions.
