18.11.25, 19:30, Jolien Gijbels, Chanelle Delameillieure, Een vergeten geschiedenis van consent

In 1500, Woyeken Hagen voluntarily allowed herself to be kidnapped so that she could marry a man she had chosen herself. In 1601, Marin le Marcis was subjected to intimate physical examinations without her consent to determine whether she had male or female sexual characteristics. In 1889, Charlotte underwent the first unwanted caesarean section in Belgium.

Three people, three different times and circumstances. Their stories seem to have little in common. And yet there is one element that connects them: in each case, it revolves around the presence, or rather the absence, of consent.

Today, we mainly associate consent with sexual violence and #MeToo. But history shows that the struggle for control over one's own body is much older and more multifaceted. In “A forgotten history of consent”, historians Chanelle Delameillieure and Jolien Gijbels examine how people have navigated between coercion and free will throughout the centuries. How did marginalised groups manage to create space for their own choices? What forms of resistance, negotiation or silent protest were involved?

This lecture opens a window onto the surprising, often uncomfortable history of a concept that everyone is familiar with, but which remains difficult to define precisely. A look at the past makes it clear that people agreed to situations they did not actually want for various reasons, and that not everyone had the same amount of say. The lecture shows that consent can often be difficult to reduce to a simple yes or no and invites further reflection on the many shades of grey between coercion and freedom.

The lecture by Jolien Gijbels and Chanelle Delameillieure will be followed by a panel discussion with Douwe Haenen and moderator Anneleen Lemmens. In between, there will be an artistic intervention by Yousra Benfquih.

• Jolien Gijbels is a teacher in History at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She researches the history of medicine and gender in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She is currently co-editing a public book with Chanelle Delameillieure on consent from different historical perspectives.
• Chanelle Delameillieure is a teacher in medieval history at KU Leuven. Her research focuses on gender, family and crime history. She is the author of ‘Wijvenwereld’, a popular science book about women in the Middle Ages, and is co-authoring a book with Jolien Gijbels about consent in the past.
• Yousra Benfquih is a writer, poet and spoken word artist. In 2017, she won the txt-on-stage competition “Naft voor Woord” and was selected for the deBuren writing residency in Paris. Since then, Yousra has been a fixture on the Flemish stage, from Bozar to Roma, Arenberg to Theater aan Zee. Her written work can be read in Kluger Hans, DW B, De Poëziekrant, De Revisor and De Gids, among others. Yousra is one of the regular authors/house authors of Rekto:verso and teaches Spoken Word at LUCA School of Arts, Writing for Performance. She is currently working on her poetry collection.
• Anneleen Lemmens studied Literature and Theatre Studies at the universities of Ghent and Antwerp and then followed the programme Drama – Directing at the RITCS in Brussels. Since then, she has been primarily active as coordinator of Engagement Arts, an organisation dedicated to tackling sexism, abuse of power and inappropriate behaviour in the broader cultural sector. In this context, Anneleen completed the programme to become a confidential advisor and immersed herself in prevention by giving lectures and workshops at art schools and institutions.
• Douwe Haenen is a programme maker and heritage professional. During his studies at the Reinwardt Academy, he focused on ethical issues within the cultural sector. He has worked and advised for deBuren, the Bonnefantenmuseum, OSCAM and SHCL, among others. He currently works as a programme maker at Curieus, where Douwe continues to promote accessibility and participation in the cultural sector.

This lecture is held in Dutch

This evening is a collaboration between Studium Generale and deBuren. This lecture will take place in the MIRY Concert Hall. The hall is wheelchair accessible via a lift to the first floor. A sign language interpreter will be provided for this lecture. If you have any further questions about accessibility facilities, please contact the organisation: anais.vanertvelde@hogent.be. Questions can be asked to the student assistant at the desk on site.