Consent workshops for teens attending first festival

Cornwall-based music festival Boardmasters is investing in workshops to inform teenagers of relationship and consent issues before they attend their first festival.

In an industry first, Boardmasters is supporting both the workshops and webinars for parents whose children are starting to attend festivals, to equip young people with information they need before arriving on site.

The festival says it is investing in the initiatives, which will also cover alchohol consumption and sexual activity, to “change social behaviour, by tackling these issues at the root”.

READ MORE:

“These topics are tricky, whether related to festivals or everyday life,” Andrew Topham, CEO and Founder of Boardmasters Festival said.

“As a festival, the safety and welfare of our attendees is paramount. And while we will have many measures, protocols, expert teams and third-party providers on site, this year we have taken another proactive step to extend this support even further, into schools and to parents directly.”

The workshops, delivered by the Schools Consent Project to pupils in Year 12 (aged 16-17) across Cornwall and the South West, will be led by legally trained volunteers. They will cover information including the legal definition of consent, how to identify consent, the ages of consent, bystander intervention, ways to obtain help and more.

The Schools Consent Project Director, Monica Bhogal, said the project firmly believes that education is prevention.

“Learning about sexual consent laws, and having accurate and comprehensive knowledge of their rights and responsibilities, will enable the next generation to make safe, respectful, healthy choices around sexual consent and to enjoy fulfilling relationships,” Bhogal added.

“Our fundamental premise is that education is the best way of challenging sexually harmful attitudes in society and there are real benefits in early and ongoing conversations.”

Meanwhile the webinars, delivered by It Happens Education, will be available to parents and guardians of young people attending this year’s festival.

Taking place on 10 and 13 July, the webinars will explore the realities of festival life and give parents the opportunities to discuss topics including alcohol, consent and sexual activity.

“It’s fantastic that Boardmasters are engaging and empowering parents, to decide what topics and conversations they would like to explore with the young people in their lives,” Director of It Happens Education, Zoe Shuttleworth, said.

“Being prepared and well-informed is key to assessing risk, thinking about the consequences, making good choices, asking for help and having a great time at Boardmasters.”

The surf and musical festival is attended by 50,000 annually, with this year’s edition taking place on 9-13 August.