Akosua Hanson tackles sexual consent and rape among students

'Let’s Talk Consent’ is a sex education workshop that focuses on respect and human dignity in sexual relationships, as expressed through asking and recognizing consent or non-consent.

This workshop is running in high schools and universities across Accra. It is an initiative by Celebrity Fanzone co-host Akosua Hanson, in partnership with the Mbaasem Foundation, a non-governmental organization headed by Ghanaian writer, poet, activist, Ama Ata Aidoo and Kinna Likimani, book blogger and activist, that supports women and women’s writing across Africa.

Passionate about issues of gender and rape, Akosua states that, “This initiative is driven largely by the need to reduce gender-based violence through sex and to curb a thriving rape culture (ie. a culture in a society that encourages rape to thrive through a myriad of ways such as the shaming of victims and perpetuating misconceptions about sex that encourage the increasing number of rape incidents).”

The first workshop took off in Tema International School last week, where students were taught important subjects such as ‘General myths and Misconceptions about Rape, relationships and sex’, how to recognize these misconceptions in popular culture, street lingo and the media.

Issues on gender roles and socialization are also a topic for discussion, such as, how seeing your partner as simply property can go a long way to facilitate sexual assault or rape. However most importantly, lessons on Consent were discussed with Consent stressed as being the power to say ‘no’ in today’s world where the general misconception is that a person’s no must be screamed or involve vigorous action before it is respected.

“A lot of the final year high school students will go off to universities later this year, and may no longer be under the protection and guidance of their parents,” Akosua states.

“Teaching consent is therefore crucial to prevent sexual assault and rape. What makes this workshop stand out particularly is that we are not having this conversation with only girls but boys as well.

It will surprise you the number of rape and harassment cases that goes on in our university campuses, with victims unable to seek for help for fear of being shamed. We aim to be a catalyst in a new generation of men and women who completely respect the dignity of their partners and hold a person’s sexual choices in high esteem.”

Facilitators for this workshop: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, curator of the popular blog Adventuresfrom.com, a great space for women across the continent of Africa to share their experiences, sexual assault and rape being one of them, and also for them to find a support group, Apiokor Ashong of Citi FM, an established Ghanaian-American poet, Prisca Sakyi-Mensah, an academic at the Institute of African Studies in the University of Ghana with a speciality in Gender and Development and Dr. George Hanson who teaches about the dangers of teenage pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV.

This workshop will continue in other high schools and universities, the University of Ghana being the next stop.