Consent – what is it all about?

So you’ve probably heard about consent in relationships but maybe you don’t totally understand how important it is – ‘cos it’s not a straight-up concept, right? There’s soooooo many different signals that you need to look out for and understand. It’s really important because in a relationship you have to make sure no-one is feeling pressured to have sex – especially if they’re having sex for the first time.

This video flips it though. Percy from Mandem on the Wall tests out consent on some unsuspecting members of the public to see their reactions. He’s sipping people’s coffees, holding hands, all sorts but without any permission and you though can probably guess their reactions you should watch anyway as it’s jokes. He then talks to his friend about her phone, and whether he can borrow it. Sounds like a pretty straight answer – yes or no. Easy, right? “No” obviously means “no”, but “yes” can actually mean a few things. It might mean “yes” to a call but not to WhatsApp or Snapchat, and it might mean “yes” now but not “yes” forever.

So even when borrowing a phone there’s a few things to think about. Now take that into a relationship – where things are waaaaaaaay more complicated – and you can see why you need to talk openly about consent in relationships, and make sure everyone’s clear before you go any further.