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, trust. This video helps explain.

Here, four young people take you through the intricacies of consent using the metaphor of borrowing someone’s phone. “No” is really easy to understand – it means no, simple as. “Yes” though, can mean a few different things and so it’s really important you understand why ‘cos you really don’t wanna mess this up. “Yes” to one thing doesn’t mean “yes” to everything, and “yes” once doesn’t mean “yes” every time. Things can change quickly and it’s important to ask every time, and keep on talking about it. Whether it’s sex for the first time, or you’ve done it before, never use pressure to have sex – you need consent and that consent needs to be clear.

So listen up – learn about consent, and keep on asking the question. It’s waaaaaay better when you’re both on the same page when it comes to this stuff. Stay open, stay communicating, and be sure about consent.