Watch above: What is sexual consent?
SASKATOON – A sexual assault educator wants to remind the public that a person cannot properly consent to sexual activity if they are not sober.
“Consent cannot be given if somebody else makes the decision for you, if you’re unconscious or not sober,” said Heather Pocock, assistant director at the Saskatoon Sexual Assault Centre.
The issue of sexual consent recently played out in a Saskatoon court room, as Farouk Sadiq and Butchang Nkem were accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2012.
Nkem was found guilty, while Sadiq was exonerated on the grounds that he had the honest, but mistaken, belief that the complainant consented to having sex with him.
The judge ruled in the verdict the complainant was incapable of providing consent after a night of partying.
READ MORE: Guilty verdict for one of two men in Saskatoon sexual assault trial
“I think what is important is that people need to be aware that they cannot violate the sexual integrity of another person,” said Buffy Rodgers, the senior Crown prosecutor in the case.
“They need to be educated on what that kind of conduct is, so people need to keep that in mind,” she added, when asked what the public should take away from the trial.
Pocock is one person looking to educate the public on the issue. She says the centre gives around 200 presentations a year on sexual assault and the question of consent.
“Certainly we talk about the alcohol and drug involvement and we see that lots of people don’t understand it and weren’t aware,” said Pocock.
Pocock will be taking part in the University of Saskatchewan’s sexual assault awareness week which runs Sept. 22-26. The week features a number of programs that are being organized by the university’s student’s union women’s centre.
Dylan Lambi-Raine, the centre’s coordinator, said the issue of consent will be one of the focuses of the week.
“Next week we really want to let people know that if you’re too drunk to drive a car, then you’re too drunk to provide consent,” said Lambi-Raine, who studies gender studies and social work.
“I think it’s really important to understand that consent is not the absence of no, consent is not silence,” she added.
Both Pocock and Lambi-Raine said that alcohol can complicate potential sexual assault situations. However both stated that bystander intervention or the help of a friend, can go a long way in preventing assault.
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