What was the initiative?

In recent years, several Canadian athletic programs, have been exposed for fostering abusive and toxic cultures marked by player mistreatment, inappropriate coaching, and athlete-perpetrated violence. Despite these cases of toxic cultures existing in high-performance professional sports environments, they are cultivated throughout an athlete’s life at every level of the game demonstrating the need for prevention education in youth& varsity athletic programs.

Aubrey’s initiative, Youth for Consent Culture, is a non-profit organization inspiring a culture of consent, led by the voices of athletes. Aubrey’s initiative provides consent, healthy relationship, and violence prevention training for youth, coaches, and athletics staff in sports. Aubrey’s initiative is dedicated to creating transformative learning opportunities to develop leadership in building a culture of consent in sport.

Aubrey’s programs are participant-driven and value the diverse experiences each individual brings to the table and believe that everyone has something to teach and something to learn. To break the traditional teacher-student dynamic, Aubrey’s initiative uses group activities and discussion to shift the focus from ‘we have something to teach you’ to ‘let’s learn from each other.’

What was the community connection?

As the youngest of five sisters and growing up surrounding by women, Aubrey was impacted by the challenges they faced. At a young age, Aubrey was aware of the prevalence of sexual violence on university campuses and was inspired to make meaningful changes in the area. In her time at Queen’s, Aubrey was involved in various campus initiatives related to transforming campus culture to be safer and more inclusive for all students, and after graduating was hired by the university to support the Gender-Based Violence Awareness and Bystander Intervention Program.

By working with the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Community, Aubrey was able to better understand the gaps in the current education on sexual violence and consent in youth spaces. Considering the challenges in creating meaningful opportunities for youth to engage in this kind of education, Aubrey focused on their agency and safety – encouraging involvement in a chosen and safe space. In her own experience, this was sports, particularly on the rugby pitch. As a young woman among her teammates, Aubrey realized the importance of team culture, healthy relationships, and consent for athlete safety and success. 

How was it innovative?

Youth for Consent Culture aspires to a future where athletes embody the principles of a safe sports environment by practicing allyship to promote positive change. Aubrey’s initiative is innovative through her approach to training sessions and athlete-centered programming. 

Aubrey’s sessions aim to take athletes beyond skill development and focus on their overall development as people. An activity from her workshop highlights how embracing human qualities over stereotypes fosters positive relationships and reduces violence. Aubrey’s post-session evaluation revealed that 88.8% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “I feel I can evaluate how societal expectations/pressures can lead to harm and ultimately unhealthy relationships” compared to 58.4% before completing the session. 

In addition to social development for athletes, Aubrey’s programming is entirely athlete-centered. Built on the belief that athletes voices must be at the core of a culture change Aubrey’s initiative curriculum was developed and adapted by athletes to fit sport-specific contexts. She utilizes sports scenarios, videos, and relevant materials to contextualize each session. 

Aubrey’s athlete-advisory committee is made up fo athletes from various varsity and community athletic programs across Canada. At their monthly meetings, the committee reviews and offers recommendations to ensure their work is hitting the mark and really addressing the issues facing athletes today. 

What is Aubrey doing now?

After the Fellowship, Aubrey plans to continue Youth for Consent Culture and focus on financial sustainability. This has been one of the largest challenges for Youth for Consent Culture, so in the coming year the priority focus is on relationship building and securing funding to scale. Additionally, Aubrey plans to work in the youth leadership and education field to continue to develop professionally.