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Understanding Consent
Consent is an agreement between people to engage in a sexual activity. It is needed for any kind of sexual activity from kissing to intercourse.
Core elements of Consent:
- Consent needs to be mutual (both people have to agree) and must be continuous.
- A person has the right to stop at any time or change their mind at any time, and just because someone has said yes to one thing doesn’t mean they have consented to anything else.
- Enthusiastic consent should be obtained each and every time people have a sexual encounter, regardless of whether or not they have been intimate before.
- The important part of consent is regularly checking in with your partner to make sure that they are still wanting to proceed.
Consent is FRIES:
Freely Given
Reversible
Informed
Enthusuastic
Specific
Consent and the Law
The law in Victoria sets out clear age limits for when you can legally have sex. This is called age of consent. A person can be charged with a sexual offence if they perform a sexual act that breaks these age limits, even if the younger person agrees to it.
For more information, visit Legal Aid.
Helpful Resources
Blue Seat Studios – Consent
The brains behind the famous “Consent Tea” video, Blue Seat Studios are committed to educating people of all ages (including children) about consent using humor and accessible animation.
Western University – Cycling Through Consent
This animated video takes on a fun and simple approach to looking at consent; exploring what consent is and what it does and does not look like. Everyone should understand consent, so share this video and start the conversation.
Rise Above UK – The Basics of Sexual Consent
When it comes to getting down to it, things aren’t as simple as you might think. Sex always requires consent – there’s no two ways about it – and understanding exactly what consent means is something you need to understand. This video helps explain.
Here, four young people take you through the intricacies of consent using the metaphor of borrowing someone’s phone.