Consent And Coercion Archives • In Plainspeak

Picture of a firecracker with the text 'Happy 18th Birthday to TARSHI' below

The Editorial: Consent and Violence

·February 1, 2014
·tarshiadmin

Felicitations to us at TARSHI! As we turn 18 this month, the currently legal age of consent for sexual activity in India, this issue of In Plainspeak poses some difficult questions that we all ask ourselves in the course of not just our work but also our own personal relationships. Every day we see around…

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A black-and-white silhouette of a girl standing in a deserted wasteland

Issue in Focus: My right to say ‘yes’ and my right to say ‘no’

·February 1, 2014
·Sumati Panikkar

Women in our societies largely do not have any acquaintance with the word ‘consent’, but they are very familiar with the word ‘violence’. The right to choose, whether to consent to or reject a particular relationship, or a sexual act within that relationship, is a basic right for human dignity. In our society, consent from…

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The book cover of 'Good Times for Everyone: Sexuality Questions, Feminist Answers'

Review: Good Times for Everyone: Sexuality Questions, Feminist Answers

·February 1, 2014
·Artika Raj

[Editor's note: When discussing consent and coercion, it is impossible to deny the shame and secrecy that surround issues of sexual assault and sexuality, generally. In looking for ways to educate and to change cultural standards when it comes to consent and responsibility in sexual encounters, it seems clear that a new attitude about sexuality is…

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A still of actor Divya Dutta from the film 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'. She is wearing a pink headscarf and bloue jacket, and her right palm is held up to her head in the manner of a salute.

Voices: Silencing the Body: On Blissful Cinematic Ignorance and Social Insensitivity

·February 1, 2014
·Parigya Sharma

In one of the most compelling and difficult scenes in 2013’s acclaimed Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a young Milkha Singh is shown visibly disturbed, having witnessed his sister being sexually abused by her husband. Shaken, his sister breaks down and is comforted by her younger brother. I remember seething and feeling deeply upset in the aftermath…

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Interview: Vidya Reddy

·February 1, 2014
·Shweta Krishnan

On Jan 1, 2014 when I met Vidya Reddy, one of TULIR’s co-founders, for an interview on consent among teenagers between 16 and 18, I had no doubt that she was going to flesh out the nuances and talk openly about a topic that makes most people cringe. Vidya has a background in psychology and…

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A still from Gangs of Wasseypur, showing a man and woman discussing consent through speech bubbles.

Consent & Coercion

·February 1, 2014
·Must Bol

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सहमति

·February 1, 2014
·Dipika Srivastava

भारतीय कानून में विसंगतियों की एक बड़ी संख्या है, चाहे हम सहमति की उम्र का उल्लेख करने वाले विभिन्न कानूनों को देखें या ‘बच्चे’ की परिभाषा बताने वाले विभिन्न कानूनों को। किशोर न्याय (बालकों की देख-रेख और संरक्षण) संशोधन अधिनियम 2006 के अनुसार ‘बालक’ की उम्र 18 वर्ष से कम है और वे कार्यरत नहीं…

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Black and white picture of a child covering their face

Poem: Age 7

·February 1, 2014
·Mukesh

tender lips that had forgotten, momentarily, the taste of mother’s milk and couldn’t tell the silence of the womb from the darkness of sins knelt, panting, to sooth with their tender warmth the spineless erection of an old man. to believe that the sweat, stink and grime were not its own the tender body washed…

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