With the recent allegations and issues relating to sexual harassment and abuse, many have taken the stand to speak up, fight back against those who discriminate the victims, and shed light on the importance of consent.
A sexuality expert suggested that parents should start introducing the concept of consent to their infants by asking permission before changing their diapers.
Deanne Carson, a “sexuality educator, speaker, and author,” said in an interview with ABC News that parents should seek consent from their babies before changing their nappies to establish a “culture of consent at home” and to let their children know that their answers and opinions matter.
https://twitter.com/HurriyatPk/status/994797868199415808
She suggested that parents should communicate to their infants with questions like: “I’m going to change your nappy now, is that okay?” Carson though, is aware that as babies, they cannot respond verbally.
“But if you leave a space and wait for body language and wait to make eye contact then you are letting that child know that their response matters,” she said.
While Carson’s intentions seem genuine and pure, a lot of people think that asking a baby for consent before changing his/her diaper is absurd and they find it “disturbing” that Carson sees it as a “sexual act that requires consent.”
https://twitter.com/Education4Libs/status/994703692510052352
https://twitter.com/rebeccah_hudson/status/994704651739000833
https://twitter.com/LeeGerads/status/994705298307895297
https://twitter.com/gogreen18/status/994598621306802176
https://twitter.com/hurleyisgod/status/994633865355579392
He’s my nephew from last 20 minutes I am trying to ask if I can change his nappie and he’s staring me like I am gone mad. pic.twitter.com/MKeiNFK296
— Hassan (@_hasan_tahIr) May 10, 2018
Others defended Carson saying that her statements were “misinterpreted” and that asking a baby’s consent or simply engaging in a “baby talk” is a normal thing for parents.
Example of issue that is so easily misrepresented. It’s not about “Can I change your nappy?” & waiting for a formal response, but about building a culture of consent, eye contact, turn taking and realising that babies are people. https://t.co/uJ1y2XMews
— Ian Robson (@ianrobsons) May 11, 2018
So we’re mocking a woman teaching consent to children because she suggests parents “ask permission” before changing a nappy? Do these people not talk to their infants? Running commentary always went “shall we change your nappy? Yes we shall…”. Talking to kids is a good thing.
— 🇳🇿 Alison Sammes▪️ (@LittleCatDesign) May 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/MArchibald/status/994697952613486592
—
Read more from InqPOP!:
Women stand up against sexual harassment through a very unlikely method
Women in Hollywood launch ‘Time’s Up!’ campaign to fight sexual harassment
Just so you know, RAPE IS NOT A JOKE
No man can just molest a woman and think he can get away with it
Trump is TIME’s Person of the Year runner-up and people are mad
