Consent
Consent is an agreement between people to do something together. It's freely given, can be withdrawn at any time and is needed every time. Knowing what consent is and isn't makes you and others safer.
Consent applies well beyond sex. Sharing a photo of someone, posting about them, touching them or going through their phone – all of these need their agreement. Consent matters whether or not you're in a relationship or sexually active.
It's up to the person who starts or escalates an activity to ask. It's not up to the other person to stop you. Without a clear, freely given yes, you don't have consent.
When someone can't consent
Everyone involved needs to be willing and able to agree to any sexual activity before it happens.
A person can't consent if they're:
- asleep or unconscious
- significantly affected by alcohol or other drugs
- intimidated, coerced or threatened
- tricked about the identity of the person involved
- agreeing because the other person is abusing a position of trust, power or authority
- unable to understand what they're agreeing to
- under the age of consent - this varies between Australian states and territories, which you can check on Youth Law Australia.
