The book roots consent in everyday bodily trust. Children learn whether they may trust their own hunger, fear, discomfort, readiness, and preference long before they learn abstract language about bodily autonomy.
That means consent formation happens whenever adults either believe or override a child’s reported experience. Repeated override wires self-doubt; repeated belief wires self-trust.
This matters spiritually and socially because people who cannot trust their own perception become easier to control and harder to protect.