March 17, 2022
Ahead of the NTARUPT “CONSENT” Student Film Contest on March 27, 2022, we are looking at the history of sexual consent and the current ways we’re spotlighting the needs right here in Dallas County.
The age-of-consent campaigns of the 1880s and 1890s represent a vital yet little-known chapter in the history of suffrage. Illustration by Meilan Solly / Photos via Newspapers.com and the Granger Collection – Smithsonian
It’s Women’s History Month 2022 and the celebrations surround us. They remind us of how far we’ve come, and how much further we can go – together, in-person, digitally, socially. Although we see the progress, and we applaud all those helping to push our state and communities forward our state continues to create hindrances to a true and fair reproductive health environment. This is why Ntarupt and our Texas Is Ready Coalition partners are lifting the veil to ensure more people are aware, and together, we can continue the work started centuries ago.
Today: Students Share Videos On CONSENT
More than 15 high school teens submitted videos answering the question, “What does consent look like to you?”
The finalists are from five Dallas County high schools: Sachse High School, Lake Highlands High School, Lincoln High School, Richardson High School, and The Hockaday School. They are competing for a chance to win $1,000 at the 7th Annual Student Film Contest event happening Sunday, March 27 at 3 pm at The Kessler Theater, 1230 W Davis St, Dallas, TX 75208.
Currently, the Ntarupt powered sex ed resource TalkAboutItDallas.com is amplifying CONSENT messages to teens and parents throughout Dallas County’s highest teen birth rate zip codes: 75203, 75212, 75220, 75215, 75216, 75217, 75219, 75227, 75228. 75240, 75172, and 75231 through billboards and 21 DART buses displaying the sex education “Choices Not Chances” messages like “Consent can be given and taken away.” The messages can also be seen on social media, including working in partnership with influential mommy and son TikTokers to create awareness and humorous video.
2022 “Choices Not Chances” Public Awareness Billboard in Dallas County
Current Texas Sex Education Standards
For the first time since 1997, Texas’ State Board of Education has made major changes, with prompting from Texas is Ready, to its sex education standards, requiring sex ed, including the teaching of contraceptive methods, for eighth grade students. Now, starting in 2022, eighth grade students in Texas will learn about forms of birth control beyond abstinence, healthy relationships and setting boundaries, but schools still won’t be required to teach about the importance of consent. Each school district still has the opportunity and obligation to teach the concept of consent, including how to recognize when you have it.
From sixth grade to twelfth grade, sexual education in Texas is still focused on teaching one method above all others: abstinence.
The Texas Legislature has, however, created a barrier to teens receiving this information by passing a requirement that caregivers must opt in, rather than opt out, for their kids to receive health education in schools. In addition to sex ed, this barrier includes information on topics like abusive relationships and sex trafficking.
2022 Art of CONSENT 2nd Place Juror’s Choice Winner Laura Davidson’s Original CONSENT Artwork
History: Age of Consent
The definition of “Age of Consent” in Texas is when a person may legally consent to engage in sexual activity with another person. Texas Penal Code states that once a person becomes 17 years of age they are capable to give consent for sexual activity with another person. In other words, it is illegal for any person over the age of 17 to engage in sexual activity with a child under the age of 17, regardless of whether or not the act is consensual.
According to the Smithsonian, “The very first bill ever proposed by a female lawmaker in the United States came from Colorado state representative Carrie Clyde Holly in January 1895. Building on a decade of women’s activism, Holly’s ambitious legislation sought to raise the age of consent in the state to 21 years old. In 1890, the age at which girls could consent to sex was 12 or younger in 38 states. In Delaware, it was seven. Such statutes had consequences endangering the safety and wellbeing of young girls, and hampering women’s future place in society and their potential for upward mobility.
Too many women, Holly and her historic bill symbolized: the right to one’s own body.
Terry Greenberg, Ntarupt CEO emphasizes, “Your reproductive and sexual health is really important for your life and your life plan. Not only does it determine your personal health, it’s the health of your family. If you’re not giving kids that, you’re not equipping them to be adults.”
Would you like to attend or bring a teen in your life? Buy Tickets Here.
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