Learning Consent as a Life Skill:
Learn and Advocate for Consent Through Circus Arts.
Co-facilitated by a Licensed Clinical Social Social Worker (LCSW) and a professional circus artist/educator, we explore ideas surrounding consent, appropriate touch and the power of no, through the vehicle of circus arts. This workshop teaches youth of different ages critical lessons and skills surrounding consent and ownership of their bodies. An alternative workshop is offered for educators and youth leaders to facilitate their approach and discussions about consent within the populations they serve.
The workshop begins with an introduction of circus and safety, specifically where it outright intersects with consent -- without initial mention of ideas beyond the acrobatics. We then participate in partner acrobatics and human pyramids -- this workshop is adaptable to people of different ages, fitness and ability levels. The specific circus skills utilized in this workshop are carefully chosen because they demand respect, collaboration, communication and trust.
In the second half of our workshop, our LCSW provides a safe space for program participants to process their understanding of consent based upon their participation in the circus arts experience/section of the program. Participants are empowered to articulate the important elements surrounding consent and apply them (or generalize them) to other parts of their lives. This conversation is naturally directed, adapted, and appropriately targeted based on participants’ ages, developmental level, gender, and background.
The workshop concludes with the opportunity to reflect and process the experience of this workshop, through the guidance and supervision of our clinical social worker, and what was learned from the acrobatics as well as the discussion.
The workshop will cover subjects including:
Identifying and verbalizing boundaries
Importance of consent as a critical life skill.
Discussing the impact of when consent is not voiced or respected (Both short and long term).
Advocating for your emotional and physical safety
Consent as a value of self empowerment
And others