Ask Aunt Lori - Consent
Let's talk about consent.
Consent is a vital part of every relationship: doctor/patient, friendship, family, significant others, and everything else; yet, so many people don't know about it!
The "gold standard" of consent is informed consent. Sim0ly put, it's giving someone information about everything before treatment. This might be more well known in a healthcare situation, but it should also be applied to all other contexts.
Informed consent, as defined by the NIH, has four main principles:
The nature of the procedure
Risks and benefits of the procedure
Reasonable alternatives
Risks and benefits of those alternatives
Additionally, the patient must be able to consent: not under influence of drugs, have the mental and cognitive abilities to consent, not being coerced into the decision, and feel safe to make the decision.
This philosophy allows a person to have a very clear understanding of what will happen to them, and it's a philosophy that should be adopted into everyday life. Consent in sexual activities is perhaps the most misunderstood.
Let's look at what informed consent would look like in a sexual context:
Nature of the procedure -> nature of the sexual activities that will happen: any birth control, STI prevention, the type of sex, any boundaries or kinks.
Risks and benefits of the procedure -> both know about STI, pregnancy, and other risks and benefits related to the activities. Birth control is a particularly important one to know the risks and benefits of specific ones!
Reasonable alternatives -> if they don't want to engage in sexual activities, alternative activities they would do. This includes alternative birth control, STI prevention,
Risks and benefits of the procedure -> any of the risks and benefits of the alternatives.
Additionally, the criteria of who cannot consent remains the same.
Informed consent isn't just for healthcare!
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