1) General Rules

ShibariTurkey does not concern itself with the sexual identities and preferences, religions, political views, races, bodies, or beliefs of its participants and expects compliance from its participants.

Participants who wish to capture or record images during our activities, events, or workshops may only do so with the consent of individuals. Sharing these images on social media or other platforms must be done with individuals’ consent and they must be informed beforehand.

ShibariTurkey carefully reviews applications made to participate in any of its activities to create a safe space. It may choose not to admit anyone who violates the rules, requests missing information, or opts for procedures such as examining social media profiles.

2) Workshop, Training, Practice Ethics, and Rules

ShibariTurkey does not involve anything outside of rope-related activities, and nudity, bodily autonomy, and consent are our fundamental principles. The age limits set by the laws of the Republic of Turkey apply to our activities and workshops.

ShibariTurkey considers it a duty to inform and equip participants about traditional and erotic bondage arts and their social, cultural, and even economic implications, aiming to pass this knowledge on to anyone interested in learning about the history of shibari. Within this context, ShibariTurkey does not permit any sexual activity or play parties under its umbrella.

It is among our conditions that participants in ShibariTurkey’s education and workshops do not consume any stimulating substances or alcohol before or during their participation, and their physical and psychological competence must be intact.

Respect Bodily Autonomy
During our events and workshops, you can choose your partners by asking individuals and obtaining their consent, and you can request assistance from the ShibariTurkey Team Manager for negotiation before working together. The Team Manager will provide you with information on working rules, tools, and safety measures with your working partner and create a comfortable working environment.

Give Space
During our workshops and trainings, when people are tying or being tied (solo or with others), give them plenty of space for their “scenes”. If you want to watch, stand at a reasonable distance and avoid being intrusive. Especially, do not interrupt a scene to ask questions, touch people, or equipment (including ropes).

Stick to Consent
Obtaining consent is the responsibility of the person initiating or about to initiate the scene (top), and it can be renegotiated or canceled at any time. This means listening to each other, respecting each other, and being careful with all our interactions. Obtaining and practicing clear consent is an important step in creating the culture we want to live in. In this context, we support all our participants in exploring shibari culture safely, excitingly, and in consensus.

Come Alcohol-Free
Consuming alcohol or any intoxicating substance during all our trainings, practices, and workshops is prohibited. This can not only facilitate physical injuries but also disturb other participants around you.

Show Respect
Do not interrupt, interfere with, or intervene in a participant’s question, speech, or ongoing declaration. You will surely have the opportunity to ask your question or express yourself. Keep in mind this situation that is necessary for clear and open communication.

If you are uncomfortable with a participant’s attitude, politely warn them with non-violent language and communication within the framework of respect and ethics. If your warning is not taken seriously, inform our security personnel.

Creating consent construction (manipulation, lies, or falsehoods, etc.) without obtaining consent from any person is not welcomed at any of our events. In such cases, the participant will be removed from the event area.

3) Party, Show, and Performance Rules

During our parties, it is risky and dangerous to interfere with the areas of performance artists during performances. Unless otherwise stated, taking visual recordings (photos and videos) by spectators at ShibariTurkey events is prohibited. Anyone who violates this rule will be removed from the event by officials.

Violation of another person’s bodily autonomy, area violation, and any behavior performed without consent will be grounds for removal. Except for yes, everything means no!

Be Respectful towards Performers
Be respectful to performers during ShibariTurkey performances. Engaging in activities that may distract or demotivate them, such as focusing on anything other than their performances, making noise, or talking on the phone, is both objectionable and disrespectful to the performers.

ShibariTurkey does not allow any play or sexual activity at our events within the ethical rules of the venues.

4) Safety

It is prohibited for spectators to take photos or videos of our performance artists or any event participants/audience members without their consent. Anyone found to be in violation of this rule will be removed from the event.

• Except for the ShibariTurkey security team, there is no one responsible for security at our events.
• All ShibariTurkey team members use name tags, and those with name tags are ready to assist participants on all matters.
• Before each performance, spectators are informed whether they can take visual recordings of that performance.
• Individuals who have purchased multiple tickets for our events must attend with them and are responsible for their accompanying individuals from the reference persons. In case of any problem with these individuals, the ticket holder is considered the responsible party along with the accompanying individuals.
• If the person who purchased the ticket cannot attend the event, they must provide the information of one of the individuals who will attend and update the information.

5) Situations Where Your Participation Will Not Be Accepted

Your participation may not be accepted in certain situations. These situations, which we deem necessary for the safety of other participants, are as follows:

• Having shared inappropriate content (phobic, sexist, racist, violence-inciting, derogatory towards others’ beliefs, or targeting a specific group or audience) on your social media accounts,
• Having very new social media accounts with no posts or shares that could help others know or evaluate you,
• Claiming not to have a social media account while continuing to use and rely on a reference person’s social media information (each member of our community has unique personal spaces they want to keep private, and we respect this, but not sharing social media information would disregard the safety of other community members),
• Having violated our rules in the events you have attended.

Our organization may need to contact you to verify your identity in certain situations, and providing clear and complete contact information is crucial for this. Therefore, you must provide information that we can reach you with.

Last Updated: 08.12.2021

Last Updated: 08.08.2023