- Cultivate Community – Respect everyone around you. Reject racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, body shaming, ableism, classism, or any other type of discrimination. Be aware of your own privileges in the form of gender, sexuality, language, wealth, housing, body size, mental health, neurodiversity, ability, education, skin colour, relationship constellations, and citizenship, and how they differ from other people’s privileges and therefore lived experiences. Respect those differences, and be conscious of how privileges and discrimination, especially intersectional, affect power dynamics and therefore ability to consent. Most people occupy multiple social positions with multiple levels of privilege or disadvantage – privilege is nothing to feel ashamed or guilty about, but we do need to be mindful of it.
- Consent – Our events are built on the practice of explicit consent, to allow everyone to have a good time and feel as safe as they can be. Without consent kink is abuse. Ask permission to do things, respect the boundaries that people set, respond to peoples’ needs, use people’s given pronouns, etc. If you’re unsure how to start a conversation about consent then we run lots of workshops about this, but ROH organisers are also happy to answer questions about this at any time.
- Careful, Clear Communication – Respect yourself. Critically inspect your boundaries, needs and limits, and be outspoken about them. Practice saying “no” until it comes easily and naturally. Help everyone involved by speaking your mind, sharing your appreciation or constructive criticism when necessary. Solve your conflicts – let us know if mediation is needed. Refer to the Anti-Abuse Policy if needed.
- Clear-headed – Please do not recreationally use drugs and substances, including alcohol, during our events. Please don’t arrive at our events intoxicated due to recreational use of drugs or substances beforehand. Medical usage is permitted provided risk awareness.* This rule does not encompass caffeine or nicotine which are allowed, but please do not smoke or vape in our space – we ask you to step outside and away from the doors.
- Confidentiality – Some people might face personal or professional repercussions from attending our events, so be careful to have consent if you might cause someone’s kink life to overlap with their professional or private life. For example, never approach someone you know from our events outside of our events, especially if they are in company, unless you have their explicit consent. Ask for and respect the names and pronouns people want to be called in our space and outside of it – they might be different.
- Collaborate & Contribute – ROH is a not for profit organisation and exists to serve its local community. We invite you to collaborate with us and our guests, take active part in our workshops and events, share your appreciation, constructive criticism and ideas and help us shape the events to reflect the needs and desires of our attendees. If you have ideas or projects you are or would like to work on, we would like to invite you to collaborate with us or other guests.
* Please be mindful of any drugs or substances you use medically which might affect the way you act or feel during our events, and manage your risk profile accordingly. For example, consider whether your ability to consent is impaired, or whether any substances you use for pain management could impair your ability to identify an injury as it occurs, thus worsening it or delaying treatment. Share any information which might be relevant with every tying partner. You know your body best, but we are happy to chat through any concerns you might have, so please feel free to message us as well.
Last updated 05/07/2022