| Description | Most young people do not receive effective sexual consent education, which may explain why sexual assault rates have remained stubbornly high in the wake of the #MeToo movement. A decade of facilitating gender-violence prevention workshops with Chicago teenagers has shown me that roleplay can be a meaningful tool for teaching consent, as well as social-emotional skills more broadly. Through semi-scripted and improvised roleplay, students can practice expressing their boundaries and desires to another person. They can also begin to develop empathy for those whose personal wishes differ from their own. This workshop is intended for people who work with youth (e.g., youth workers, counselors, teaching artists, etc.), and attendees will learn strategies for using roleplay to help teach healthy decision-making, interpersonal communication, and empathy. |
