Consent must be embodied and rooted in mutual care if we hope to see change.
Colleges and universities need programming that goes beyond checkbox compliance and bystander interventions to reverse the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses and address the growing student demand for meaningful engagement around consent. Consent is more than just yes/no. True consent requires an approach that is embodied, relational, and rooted in values like self-awareness, authentic communication, mutual care, and accountability.
Why Consent Education is Necessary
The 2024 Higher Education Sexual Misconduct and Awareness (HEMSA) survey on 10 universities and colleges and the 2019 AAU Campus Climate Survey, which surveyed 33 universities and colleges, found that
18.9-26.4% of undergraduate women, 21.1-23.1% of transgender, queer, or nonbinary (TGQN)/ gender nonbinary, transgender, questioning or self-identified (GNTQSI) students, and 6.4-6.9% of men surveyed experienced nonconsensual sexual contact* involving physical force and/or an inability to consent since enrolling at their university (Cantor et al., 2019; Cantor et al., 2024).
When measuring for all forms of nonconsensual sexual contact, including coercion and a lack of ongoing voluntary agreement, and limiting to those in at least their fourth year, those numbers rose to 28.7-39.4% for women and 36.7-40.2% for TGQN students (Cantor et al., 2019 & 2024).
37.9-41.8% of surveyed students experienced at least one sexually harassing behavior since enrolling (Cantor et al., 2019 & 2024) 8.3-10.1% of partnered students experienced some form of non-sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) impacting GNTQS students at higher rates, 21.5-23.2% (Cantor et al., 2019 & 2024)
*"The HESMA survey measured four different kinds of nonconsensual sexual contact, which reflect the different definitions that are used by colleges and universities, as well as what has been used in published studies on campus sexual assault" (2024, p.11)
Workshop Offerings
"…I have learned to be more of an active listener when it comes to conversations...I no longer go with the flow; now I explain my feelings and communicate how I wish things to be. This has helped me avoid many problems and recover many disputes."
– Former Student
Toolbox Workshop
Nurturing Authentic Consent - Even as a People Pleaser
People pleasing can be a sign of a “fawning” an activation response where people do things they don’t want to do, and often don’t feel good about it afterwards. This spectrum of behavior can range from appearing to consent to things you’re not interested in through appearing to go along with activities that are, in reality, retraumatizing. Fawning, or people pleasing, can therefore make having consensual interactions complicated for all involved.Whether you or a loved one engage in fawning, it can be difficult to recognize the warning signs.We all deserve to have consensual experiences where we feel safe to share our needs, and this workshop will help you develop the tools to get you and your loved ones there.
Somatic Workshop
Breathing into Embodied Consent
Where should we sit? Can I kiss you? Give me a hug! Want to hang out tonight? Did any of these questions or commands make you hesitate—or squirm? We make countless decisions every day and may sometimes respond before we've fully tuned into what our mind, body, and heart truly want. For those who struggle with self-sacrifice or fear that changing their minds isn’t an option, this can be especially distressing.In this workshop, we will practice tools for pausing in a way that helps us respond to requests from a place of embodied knowing. Together we’ll cultivate the skill of honoring our authentic responses and practice expressing when we’ve changed our minds.
Contextual & Somatic Workshop
(Re)Learning to Listen to Your Body
Starting as children, we are trained to ignore our bodies. You are often woken up before your body is ready to get to school, then forced to sit still for prolonged periods, eat at designated times, and ask permission to go to the bathroom, sometimes denying those needs. This conditioning can often continue into the workplace and impact our relationship, not only with our bodily cues but also our relationships with others.In this workshop, we will (1) learn about what gets in the way of listening to our bodies (2) begin to explore practices that can help you learn to get back in touch with how your body is communicating, and (3) learn some embodiment exercises you can use to increase your bodily awareness and capacity for pleasure and joy.
Testimonials
Workshop Attendees
Healing, impactful, and spectacular
"This was so helpful for both my professional life and my personal life. It felt like the equivalent of at least a year of therapy, and as a therapist, that is a significant statement. Thank you so much. So healing and impactful!!""I have been to several consent workshops and this one was spectacular!"
Sam Duong Woloszynski, Embodied Consent Facilitator
Strong facilitation, engaging & interactive
"Yael has really strong facilitation skills and came prepared with lots of engaging, interactive breakout activities to help people learn and connect with each other. She made the space feel safe to take care of our bodies and ask questions. Lots of great concepts such as how joy and fear feel in the body, embodied yes and no, Betty Martin’s wheel of consent. Loved everything about this workshop!!!"
Former Student
"I no longer go with the flow"
"…I have learned to be more of an active listener when it comes to conversations...I no longer go with the flow; now I explain my feelings and communicate how I wish things to be. This has helped me avoid many problems and recover many disputes."
Workshop Attendees
Excited to practice... one of the best workshops
"I learned so much more about myself and am SO EXCITED to put this into practice.""Everything was useful one of the best workshops I’ve attended probably ever"
About Us
Dr. Yael R. Rosenstock Gonzalez
Dr. Yael R. Rosenstock Gonzalez
Dr. Yael R. Rosenstock Gonzalez is an educator, researcher, and curriculum designer specializing in intimacy, relationships, and values-based consent education. She holds a Ph.D. in Health Behavior with a minor in Student-Centered Pedagogy and brings over twenty years of experience in peer education, university teaching, and participatory research.Yael has designed and facilitated consent and relationship education programs bridging research, lived experience, and trauma-informed practice to support students and educators in building consent-forward campus cultures.Click here for a brief CV.
Dr. Alfredo Bonilla Aguilar
Dr. Alfredo Bonilla Aguilar
Dr. Alfredo Bonilla Aguilar is a classically trained bassoonist and international speaker. His research uplifts bassoon pieces by contemporary Latin American composers who honor folkloric music through their compositions.Alfredo begun entering the world of sexology through his wife, Dr. Yael R. Rosenstock Gonzalez. Together, they have developed materials for disrupting fawning and people pleasing behaviors, both as fawners and as partners to fawners, to support authentically consensual interactions.
Want to go deeper?
We offer a three-day in person* training program to support a campus team in diving deep into consent culture.
*Alternative formats can be discussed
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