In Sex, Consent Is Everything: In Case Of Doubt
Tags: Italy, Rape, Violence, Love, Family

Amnesty Italia is launching a new campaign called #iolochiedo for Italy to change the legislation on rape and make any sexual act without consent a criminal offense.

The fundamental objective of the campaign is to increase the awareness of young people regarding rape, understanding the multiplicity of stereotypes connected to it, with the specific intent of clarifying the concept of “consent“.

Promote, therefore, a culture of consent that is equivalent to a sexuality made up of sharing and respect, a positive sexuality that promotes well-being and does not favor discrimination and violence.

Sexual violence is a phenomenon widespread all over the world that takes various forms, it can be perpetrated on the street or at home, it can be done by a single individual or by a group of people, it can be committed on a woman or on a man, on a girl or a boy but a common element remains: the lack of consent.

Victims often experience a second trauma that follows the sexual violence suffered as they are crushed by the weight of stereotypes, by misconceptions about sexual violence, by accusations of guilt, by doubts about their credibility, by inadequate support, even at the time of reporting .

In Italy, in particular, the prejudice that blames the victim for the sexual violence suffered persists. It is not conceived how a man can be a victim of sexual violence, as it is wrongly believed that it is physically impossible to rape a man.

In fact, many studies on the sexual physiology of men suggest that it is possible to have an erection and / or an ejaculation even in a non-consensual situation, such as anal sex, or it has been shown that it is possible for an erection to occur. erection or ejaculation in situations of extreme stress.

Understanding this is of enormous importance for sexually abused men so that they can better accept themselves and seek the psychological and legal support they need.

Furthermore, according to a recent Istat survey, 39.3% of the population believes that a woman is able to escape sexual intercourseif she really does not want to. The percentage of those who think that women can provoke sexual violence with their way of dressing is also high (23.9%). Furthermore, 15.1% are of the opinion that a woman who suffers sexual violence when drunk or under the influence of drugs is at least partly responsible.

A further datum of social interest with respect to the persistence of violent stereotypes related to rape is the “Denim day” campaign born among the users of the new social media Tik Tok, which sees young boys, victims of sexual violence, wearing clothes, often in tatters, which bore the day they were raped.

They show jeans, skirts, sweatshirts, overalls, dramatically emphasizing that a certain type of clothing does not expose violence more than others. The campaign was born as a sign of protest and solidarity, in the hope of helping those in the same situation to report.

It seems clear that consent is everything when it comes to sex. It is always necessary to respect the wishes of the partners involved in sexual activity. To have sex, you need to know that the person you want to have sex with wants the same thing.

Consent must be a voluntary and free choice, not the signing of a contract, but the recognition of human dignity. Amnesty Italia suggests the general rule for consent: “If in doubt about consent, ask for it expressly. If you are still in doubt, stop “. It sounds trivial, but it is a culture of respect that must start from everyone’s mind. Each of us. Nobody excluded