Consent Policy

• No touching people or personal property without permission.

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• Treat everyone as an equal – no one is dominant or submissive toward another unless that relationship has been agreed upon by the individuals involved.

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• Using “Inclusive Negotiation Practices,” negotiate the scope of your scene prior to the activities, including but not limited to, types of play, marks, intimate contact (breasts, genitals, etc) and other areas of person for special or no attention. 

  • For example, hands around the throat may be a huge turn on for some but equally a huge trigger for others.

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• If you are unsure whether someone is able to give you open, honest, and informed consent, do not assume you have consent and do not continue.

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• It is a Woodshed Suggested Practice to not renegotiate for further activities during the scene. Headspace can easily alter a person’s frame of mind and inhibitions.

  • Want to go further than you negotiated? Save it for the next scene.  

  • It is always ok to remove things from the negotiated scene, but after the scene starts, we strongly suggest no new things be added to the negotiation.

• Be ambiguous about what you’re asking someone to consent to.

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• Add additional things they did not consent to.

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• Interpret a halfhearted “okay” or “maybe,” silence, or anything other than enthusiastic affirmative consent as a “yes.”

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• Pressure someone into giving consent.

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• Assume any answer is Yes until the person has actively given that Yes.

• If there isn’t room to say NO without fear of repercussion or if there is pressure to change a No to a Yes, then there isn’t consent.

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• Check your power! Power differentials exist due to status, position, privilege (societal structures), and/or experience level. Recognize the impact those can have on interactions, negotiation, agency, and consent, and intentionally, mindfully, and explicitly address that, and their impacts, in your negotiations.

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• If you are negotiating with someone that is inexperienced, you have an obligation to mindfully and intentionally lead them through negotiation and consent in a way that reflects their lack of experience, and to ensure they are informed and have a reasonable concept of their agency in the interaction, risks they are deciding about, and what it is they are consenting to. 

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• If someone doesn’t clearly communicate understanding, consent, and the activities involved, ASK clarifying questions. If they don’t seem sure about something, then you shouldn’t be sure you have consent for it.

• If you experience or witness a consent incident, you are encouraged to tell a DM or other staff member if you feel comfortable to do so. Please do not hesitate to seek someone out if you need support, assistance, or have concerns.
   

• You are also welcome to speak with any member of our Consent Team: Suolinga, Nimuchi, Ms. Ru, Darcy, and Master Cecil.
   

• Types of behaviors that may be cause for disciplinary action include, but are not limited to: consent violations, abusive behavior, harassment, asking again for play after being turned down, and inappropriate behavior where there may be no definitive rule being broken, but the behavior is still making others uncomfortable.
   

• We take reports seriously. Feel free to contact us anonymously through this link.

• First you will be made as comfortable as possible in a setting of your choosing where you can be respectfully heard.

• The person taking the report will record whatever information you are comfortable sharing. You will be asked what happened and what you would like to have happen now.

• You can always make an “information only” report, meaning you aren’t asking for any particular action to be taken. This could be any incident where you don’t feel a definitive rule was being violated, or something that you don’t feel is worth “making a big deal” out of.  In these circumstances, we still value the information and a report will be taken and saved so that information exists for determining whether there is a pattern of inappropriate behavior, or it was an isolated incident or genuine mistake.

• If you wish to submit a report about one of the management (Master Cecil, Darcy, Ms. Ru, Chris, or Ana) to a third party, you may give your report to the Consent Team (Master Cecil, Darcy, Ms. Ru, Suolinga, and Nimuchi) or any staff member. 

  • If there is someone else that you are comfortable having as a neutral party, please feel free to utilize them; the previously listed people are merely suggestions of those who have stated that they are willing to take on this role if needed. 

• If a report is made about a member of the Consent Team, that person may be notified that a report was made about them, but they will NOT be part of the discussions regarding actions that will be taken, and details about the incident or reporting party will NOT be shared with them according the same confidentiality guidelines as any other report.

• If you do not feel comfortable reporting a concern in person, you can also use our anonymous online form. This form is completely anonymous unless you choose to give us your name and a way to contact you for follow-up.

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• Details will not be shared with anyone outside of the management or consent teams without your permission. 

• Confidentiality: Your name and identifying details contained within the report will not be shared with the subject of the report or any other parties without your express consent. We will make every effort to discuss with you any actions that we feel should be taken for the safety of the community and our members as a result of your report prior to those actions being taken. 

• In the event that the person about whom you are submitting a report poses a significant risk, management may share that level of risk and the disciplinary action taken (suspension or revocation of membership, or banning from future events) with other events, play spaces, or community leadership, while still maintaining your confidentiality.

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• Decisions about how to handle an incident or violation are made on a case by case basis based on the needs of the reporting party, the information available, and the severity of the offense. All incidents will be handled with the goals of assessing risk, preventing continued harm, and reducing risk to our members and the community at large.

• Further contact and updates about your report will happen in a timely manner, and you are always welcome to contact the management or consent team with further questions.

• Our priority is always to ensure that your concerns are heard, and that we do what we can for the safety and wellbeing of our members and the community at large. If at any time you have a concern, please feel free to bring it to our attention in whatever way is most comfortable for you!

Disclaimer: Every reasonable effort will be made to enforce this policy, but this organization makes no representations or guarantees about its ability to do so, and all participants/attendees retain full, sole responsibility for their safety and the safety of others with whom they interact.