Consent and Conduct Policy for Tethered Together

Consent Philosophy 

Consent is collaborative. You’re not doing stuff TO people, you’re doing stuff WITH people. If you’d like to play with someone else, you need to talk about what you want to do before you do it and find something to do together. That could be lots of things or nothing. Both are okay to find out. We suggest you consider talking about how you want to feel after you’re done as well. If you can’t talk about it together, you probably shouldn’t be doing it together. 

  1. No touching people or personal property without permission.
  2. Treat everyone as an equal, and only engage in verbal role-play if you have permission. For example, don’t call someone as “Mistress” or “slave” or any other role-play word unless you’ve asked for permission.
  3. Determine the scope of your scene prior to the activities, including whether there will be any contact with the breasts and genitals. Consent must be established before play and may be withdrawn at any time by anyone involved for any reason.
  4. Each participant is responsible for making sure everyone involved has the mental and emotional ability to give informed and voluntary consent for the scene.
  5. Depending on all participants’ state of mind, we recommend that you don’t renegotiate in the middle of your scene. When a person is in subspace or otherwise not in a clear state of mind, you may not have informed consent even though that person may appear to agree in the heat of the moment. 
  6. Anyone can withdraw consent, make a nonverbal safesign or use the universal safeword “Red” at any time during a scene. Once consent is withdrawn, the activity must stop immediately. Partners need to share the safewords or safesigns that are being used.
  7. The person performing an action on someone else is legally responsible for stopping that action at any suggestion that the person they are doing the action to has withdrawn consent or that consent has not been established for that action. The person receiving an action is ethically responsible for being clear and unequivocal when withdrawing consent or communicating that consent has not been established. 
  8. If you experience or witness a consent incident, tell a DM or clearly marked delegate of the event organizer immediately. 
  9. Violation of this consent policy may result in expulsion from the event or group. No one is exempt from the rules. 
  10. Disclaimer: Every reasonable effort will be made to enforce this policy, but this organization makes no representations or guarantees about its ability to do so, and all participants/attendees retain full, sole responsibility for their own safety and, ethically and often legally,the safety of others with whom they interact.

Reporting Consent Incidents at Tethered Together

If you would like to speak to a Peer Support volunteer about a consent incident, please find a staff member at the Help Desk or Registration.  Ask them to contact a member of the Peer Support Team.  You do not have to share the reason with anyone.  You are welcome to share the experiences that you are comfortable sharing with whom you wish to speak with.  

A Peer Support Team member will meet you and provide a listening ear.  If you opt to file an official incident report form, they will provide that information to you.  Although reports are not anonymous, they are confidential.  In certain cases, the team will want to share the nature of the concern with Skyla & Ozma so that appropriate actions can be taken to provide a safe and comfortable environment for you and the other attendees.  

After Hours: Ask the Hotel to contact Peer Support, they will ring their room phone and come meet you. Hotel Front Desk: (203) 967-2222