Consent at MicroBurn

If you wish to report a consent incident before, during or after MicroBurn, please use this online form (http://tinyurl.com/ConsentReportForm). You can find other ways of contacting the Consent Team lower down on this page.

Consent underpins every aspect of a burn. Ongoing respect of others’ consent and boundaries is fundamental to enjoying a space like Microburn. It means allowing everyone, including yourself, the right to feel comfortable and safe whilst we express ourselves in this hedonistic environment. With such a beautiful and infinite variety of personalities out there, we can all have different levels of vulnerability.

So it’s important to take careful consideration of what actions or statements might make someone feel uncomfortable, especially when meeting for the first time! Microburn is just round the corner so here is a quick reminder of Consent at Microburn.

If you have never seen the Consent and Tea video, we encourage you to invest 3 minutes of your life and watch the video here (https://youtu.be/oQbei5JGiT8?feature=shared).

Whilst there are many different models for consent, we encourage using the FIRES model of consent due to its accessibility. FIRES stands for: 

  • Freely given –  consent is not assumed or coerced, or reliant on specific conditions.
  • Informed – consent requires knowing all relevant information and risks about the people and actions involved.
  • Reversible – consent can be withdrawn or downgraded at any time, without needing justification.
  • Enthusiastic – consent should be a definite yes, not a maybe.
  • Specific – consent to one thing does not mean consent to another.

Please consider these points not just in relation to sex but in all your interactions with your fellow Burners.

Nudity and Sexual Expression

Nudity is a form of self expression and is allowed anywhere on site apart from the camping field, car park or gate area (but please bear in mind health and safety considerations). This is due to the possibility of being seen by people not involved with MicroBurn.

However, sexual, intimate (and many sensual) activities should be kept to the adult spaces or private tents/live-in vehicles.

Physical contact

A lot of us enjoy a hug, but this does not mean that this is a given. Ask before initiating physical contact whether this is a hug, a play fight or a friendly elbow bump.

Photos and video

Not everyone wants to have every moment captured and immortalised on the internet or someone else’s phone.

You must get explicit consent from all individuals before photographing or videoing them. 

You must also confirm their permission to use the photo/video publicly, whether it’s online, print or social media.

No photos or videos taken at the event may be used for commercial purposes.

Try to avoid spontaneous photos or videos that include people you don’t know. If this occurs you must ask those identifiable in photos if they are ok with you keeping the photo or video and respectfully delete it if requested to.

Be mindful taking someone’s photo or even the act of pointing a camera at someone may negatively impact their burn.

Reporting a consent concern or incident

After taking any appropriate safety actions, if there is an immediate risk to life or limb, you must notify a Rainbow Ranger who will escalate to the Site Lead. If you wish to report a consent concern or incident to the MicroBurn Consent Team, use one of the methods below (those marked with a star* can be used fully anonymously but we will also maintain your anonymity if you request it no matter how you contact us):

  1. Online Consent Reporting Form* – http://tinyurl.com/ConsentReportForm
  2. MicroBurn specific consent email- consent@microburn.org.
  3. In-Person: Consent Response volunteer available via event radio.
  4. Written report drop box* (near the entrance to the main field coming from the direction of the camping field).
  5. Consent Cafe: Pink Gazebo in Free Camping 11am–5pm, Friday-Sunday.

Consent Response at MicroBurn 2024 has the following operational hours:

Thursday 2-5pm; Friday-Sunday 11am-5pm; 11am-2pm Monday.

All reporting mechanisms are checked regularly throughout the event but outside of these times the Consent Team are not on call during the event. Any urgent consent matter outside of these hours should be reported to a Rainbow Ranger.

The email address and form are checked regularly throughout the rest of the year.

The Consent Team does not deal with child safeguarding issues, these should be directed to the event organisation (Site Lead or Rainbow Rangers during the event, Board of Directors outside of event time).