Consent and boundaries in the age of the #MeToo campaign

The Time’s Up Movement has put the spotlight on how men and women interact, says Relationship Expert Dr Nikki Goldstein.
It began last year, the #MeToo campaign, a spontaneous global outpouring of women on social media highlighting harassment and unfair treatment in the workforce.

So what does #MeToo mean for men and women and the way they interact?

“Women are now speaking up and they’re being heard for what’s really going on,” says Relationship and Intimacy Expert Dr Nikki Goldstein.

“We’re seeing this avenue where woman can stand up and say this was not right and people are trusting that.”

As we see more and more cases come to light in regards to the #MeToo movement, it is motivating us to talk to our teens about consent, says Dr Goldstein.

“We need to be having this conversation more around consent and boundaries, because it’s not so good that we just say that no is no,” she says.

“That was often the advice that was given, if somebody says no, that means no, but that’s not so clear cut these days.”

We need to have more of these conversations in our society around how we give consent, what it means to give consent, and also what our boundaries are, says Dr Goldstein.

It can be a grey area but it’s important to give teens some tools. It’s not just about what they say but also what they do and where they are physically that might help them communicate consent.

“Challenge yourself as to what you feel comfortable with and what you don’t feel comfortable with,” she says. “It’s really important to take that time and self-reflect but cement it, say this is where my boundaries are.”

To read more on Boundaries and Consent in the ‘Me Too’ Era, head to Dr Goldstein’s website.

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