The Aberdeen Law Project teamed up with Police Scotland to provide the University of Aberdeen with workshops on consent.

The workshops were developed in partnership with Police Scotland and ran during the University of Aberdeen’s welcome week. They covered basics of consent, how to report an incident, and the support available from the police where consent has not been given or has been violated.

Derek Bain, Police Constable, said: “Consent is a difficult subject to articulate due to the complexities involved around applying the law to such an intimate matter. Taylor, along with assistance from Detective Sergeant Ross Geddes and myself, have brought together a concise and informative introduction to the subject that gives information around how we should always look for consent. The messages also details when consent can’t be given, and that consent can be withdrawn at any time. This important topic will be explored in greater depth at a future date.”

Taylor May, Project Lead, said: “At the start of each academic term incidents relating to lack of consent such as sexual assault increase substantially. This partnership was created to inform students on consent, so students can ultimately better identify situations which lack mutual consent.

“We hope that through educating young people on the topic of sexual offences, we’ll be able to start making a difference and make progress in reducing the number of sexual assault cases.”

Helena Siebenrock, Co-student Director, said: “While our schools team offers workshops to pupils on consent, it is equally as important to continue the dialogue even once those pupils become adults. Expanding the workshops to university students does just that.”

If you are interested in our workshops on consent, please contact us at general@abdnlawproject.com.

ALP is grateful for continuing financial support from the University of Aberdeen Development Trust.