What does it mean to be heard when speaking about your own body? And what happens when a caring relationship becomes one in which one voice prevails over another?
Care, Body and Consent is a participatory workshop that addresses the issue of obstetric and gynaecological violence through discussion, listening and collaboration. The workshop is based on the idea that raising awareness does not simply mean providing information, but creating a space in which people can recognise, question and collectively develop new ways of relating to one another. Starting from accessible, simulated situations, participants will take part in group activities that explore some of the key issues at the heart of care relationships: the right to information, consent, bodily autonomy, listening, language and power dynamics. The workshop unfolds through five stages: recognising, communicating, changing perspective, taking action and building. The group becomes a tool for learning and exchange, bringing different perspectives into dialogue in order to understand how words, gestures and forms of communication can profoundly influence a woman’s experience within a gynaecological or obstetric context. The workshop does not require participants to share personal experiences. Through constructed scenarios and situations, it provides an opportunity to address a sensitive subject while maintaining a respectful and inclusive space for discussion. The experience concludes with the collective creation of a Manifesto for a Respectful Care Relationship: a visual outcome composed of the words, principles and ideas that emerge during the workshop. Care, Body and Consent originated from the photographic-text publication 3350 gr. Photographs and Letters on Obstetric Violence by Valeria Cherchi, edited by Elisabetta Masala and promoted by MAN. It represents the concluding phase of a long-term photographic project addressing obstetric and gynaecological violence and the harm it causes on an individual, social and political level. The project stems from a personal story: the death, at six months of age, of the artist’s namesake sister following an unreported incident of obstetric violence.
The workshop offers an experience in which awareness-raising takes place through doing things together, supporting an understanding of these dynamics, as well as listening, communication and mutual support as concrete tools for change.
The participation of couples, friends, acquaintances and family members is particularly encouraged, fostering dialogue among people who already share a relationship, while also creating opportunities for encounter and collaboration among individual participants who have no previous relationship with one another.
The project is supported by Strategia Fotografia 2025, promoted by the Direzione Generale della Creatività Contemporanea del Ministero della cultura
