Consent is becoming a more discussed topic in schools, social media, and in the news—for good reason! The #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have given a strong platform to women to stand up against harassment and sexual violence. It’s given them a voice after being kept silent for so long.
Say It With A Condom recently discovered KONSNT on Twitter and was inspired by their mission to promote consent culture. They support charities and non-profit organizations that educate about consent and as well as survivors of sexual assault and trafficking. They currently support Project Consent, Consent Crew, and RAINN, but they’re hoping to build their network of organizations.
KONSNT was founded in February of 2018 by Roberta Lindal. She is a survivor of sexual assault and when asked about starting the clothing line, she said, “I decided to launch KONSNT because I, like many other women, have summoned the courage to raise my voice. I have so many females in my life that I care about: my sister, my mom, my friends, and little ladies who are too young to know what sexual harassment is, and I hope never have to experience it. My goal is to educate, and cause people to question their actions and beliefs of what’s ok.”
Roberta Lindal
Roberta has taken on a big project by starting this apparel line: she runs the social media account, creates the designs for the products, develops the website, and does all of the community outreach herself!
Later this year, she is hoping to bring KONSNT to music festivals to spread the message of consent where drug and alcohol use may be involved. Roberta says, “As many as half of all sexual-assault cases involve alcohol. This Vice article outlined the issue of sexual assault and rape at music festivals, and I think there is great opportunity to educate and raise awareness at these festivals to ensure the environments are safe for women.”
No major success comes without its challenges, however. Roberta shared with us that her biggest challenge has been overcoming her own fear of speaking out about her own experience with sexual assault. It’s amazing that she has been able to overcome that fear to help others and bring such an important message to the public, but unfortunately, it’s a fear that affects many survivors.
These statistics explain why survivors may choose to not report their harassment or sexual assault to police, but there are many other reasons why they may not choose to discuss it openly as well: fear of being shamed or blamed, they don’t want friends or family to know, they were friends with or were dating the perpetrator, they didn’t think it was “serious” enough, or they didn’t even realize that what happened to them was considered sexual violence.
The last piece of information that Roberta wanted to leave with readers is this: “I want women out there who have experienced sexual assault to know that they are not alone. I want people to know that I do believe we can change the status quo and the statistics around rape and sexual assault and that the first step is talking about it.”
And we couldn’t agree more. Say It With A Condom stands with survivors of sexual violence, and we work hard to promote a culture of consent as well. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and you need support or assistance, go to RAINN or call 1-800-656-4673.
Check out KONSNT’s Twitter account, their Instagram account or their official website.