After assessing the criteria of the Sensoa Flag System, a certain colour flag is assigned to a situation. Determining the colour of a flag is not a sum of the six criteria. The criteria are a tool to assess the behaviour in a substantiated and objective way, and to better enable the investigation and observation of the behaviour. 

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    What are the flags of the Sensoa Flag System? 

    Sexual behaviour can be divided into 4 categories, ranging from okay to not okay at all. These categories are each assigned a different coloured flag. 

    Green flag: acceptable sexual behaviour  

    There is acceptable or normal sexual behaviour if:  

    • There is clear mutual consent;   
    • There is no pressure or coercion of any kind;  
    • All those involved are equal;    
    • The behaviour occurs in at least some of the peers or the functioning level is okay; 
    • The behaviour is not offensive to others and there is sufficient privacy;  
    • The behaviour is not detrimental to those who display the behaviour and others.    

    Behaviour that is given a green flag is also called healthy and positive sexual behaviour.  

    How to react to a green flag?

     

    Yellow flag: mild sexually transgressive behaviour  

    There is mild sexually transgressive behaviour if: 

    • here is no clear mutual consent or the behaviour is not entirely acceptable, and/or;    
    • Mild coercion or pressure is used and secrecy is enforced, and/or; 
    • There is a slight imbalance in terms of age, maturity, intelligence, position of authority, and/or; 
    • The behaviour is not entirely appropriate to the age and development and level of functioning, and/or;  
    • The behaviour is mildly offensive, and/or;  
    • The behaviour does not quite fit the context or there is a slight risk to privacy, and/or;    
    • The behaviour is mildly self-harming or harmful to others.  

    Mild sexually transgressive behaviour is not exceptional because exploring and challenging boundaries is part of the personal development of children, adolescents and adults.   

    How to react to a yellow flag?

     

    Red flag: serious sexually transgressive behaviour 

    There is serious sexually transgressive behaviour if:  

    Er is sprake van ernstig seksueel grensoverschrijdend gedrag als: 

    • There is no clear consent from those concerned, or the behaviour is clearly unacceptable and/or;  
    • Coercion, force, pressure, manipulation, blackmail or power are used to force sexual contact and/or;  
    • Those involved cannot walk away from the situation and confidentiality may be enforced and/or;  
    • There is marked inequality between those involved and/or;  
    • There is certainty that the behaviour is not appropriate to the developmental or functional level of those involved and/or;  
    • The behaviour does not fit the context, if there are onlookers or there is no privacy and/or;    
    • The behaviour is offensive or hurtful to those involved and/or; 
    • The behaviour causes physical, emotional or psychological harm. 

    Repeated mild sexually transgressive behaviour is also qualified as serious sexually transgressive behaviour. This includes behaviour that is seriously damaging or harmful to all involved.   

    How to react to a red flag? 

     

    Black flag: very serious sexually transgressive behaviour 

    Very serious sexually transgressive behaviour occurs if:   

    • There is clearly no consent from any of the people concerned or the behaviour is clearly unacceptable and/or;    
    • The sexual contact is forced with threats, aggression, violence or secrecy and/or;  
    • There is great inequality and dependence between those involved and/or;  
    • The behaviour is totally inappropriate to the developmental or functional level of those involved and/or;  
    • The behaviour is severely offensive and out of context and/or;  
    • The behaviour causes severe physical, emotional or psychological harm and/or;  
    • Serious sexually transgressive behaviour has occurred before and was addressed in an appropriate manner at the time. The individual should therefore know that this is serious transgressive behaviour. 

    Repeated serious sexually transgressive behaviour is also qualified as very serious sexually transgressive behaviour. The danger and consequences can be very substantial.  

    How to react to a black flag?

     

    How do I assign a flag?  

    1. Assess each person's behaviour individually.  
    2. Always start by going through the 6 criteria for an objective assessment.   
    3. A flag may change colour because of the combination of criteria or because one aspect exacerbates a situation such as:   
      1. The degree of intimacy; Do the incidents involve touching ('hands on') or are the incidents only of a visual or verbal nature ('hands off')? 
      2. The frequency; Is it one-off or repeated behaviour? 
      3. The extent to which the perpetrator should be aware of the boundaries they are crossing and the consequences for the victim. 
    4. Go through the checklist with the specifics for link each flag. 

    5. Compare the situation with an example from the Sensoa Flag System. 

    Pitfalls when assigning a flag   

    'Surely that's not possible!'
    Sometimes, people judge the situation only based on their emotions or indignation and change the colour of the flag based on their own feelings. It's better not to do this. The Sensoa Flag System offers you criteria to judge objectively. You can use these criteria to arrive at the colour of a flag, independently of your own emotions and possible indignation. 

    'That's not allowed here!'
    Individuals sometimes assign a colour to a flag according to the rules or policies in place within an organisation. For example: "We can't allow this sort of behaviour here.  We're going to ban it and so the behaviour gets a red flag". Or: "In a case like this, we administer a penalty. So the behaviour gets a black flag". This is not the objective of the Sensoa Flag system. At most, a green flag can turn yellow because of, say, an unsafe context. 

    "We have a red flag person here!"
    Sometimes, flags are assigned to people rather than to situations or behaviours.  That way, flags become categories of people and that is not the intention. Just because someone exhibits behaviour that receives a yellow or red flag does not mean it will happen again if guidelines are adjusted appropriately.  

    "What about the victim, because their behaviour is not quite okay either?"
    The behaviour of offenders may be given a certain flag colour, while the behaviour of others involved, or victims may be given a different flag colour. It is best to make this clear to all involved. Pay sufficient attention to the victim. Make it clear that the flag given is about the offender's behaviour, not about them. Some examples of responses:    

    • "Not you, but the other person is responsible."  
    • "Not you, but the other person should change his behaviour."  
    • "This flag says nothing about your behaviour."  
    • "You may feel differently yourself; we want to hear your point of view." 

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