Your Rights

Consent

This section explains what legally consent means in sex.

What is consent?

Consent is the most important part of sex. It applies to all sexual activity, including oral, anal or vaginal sex and touching. Consent means that both people actually want the activity to take place. Generally, that requires the other person to say yes. Without consent, the sexual activity becomes a crime.

Having sex with anyone under the age of 16 is a crime, regardless of whether they consented. Under the law, you have to be 16 or older to give consent.

Is not resisting or not saying anything considered consent to sex?

If a person simply doesn’t resist when the other person wants to have sex or sexual activity with them, they have not given their consent. They could have been scared or intimidated or bullied into it. If alcohol or drugs are involved and the other person is too drunk or too wasted to agree to or refuse to unwanted sexual activity, it cannot be taken as consent. Also if the other person is asleep or passed out, that is also not consent.

Sex is only consensual when the people involved actually want it to take place.

What happens if someone consented to sex and changed their mind later?

Consent must also be present during the whole activity. If two people have sex or sexual activity, and one person decides halfway through that they want to stop having sex or the sexual activity, then the sex or sexual activity must stop as soon as possible. If one person forces or intimidates another person to have sex or to participate in a sexual activity, then there is no consent at any point. Continuing sex or sexual activity without consent is rape or indecent assault, both of which are very serious crimes.

Can what I’m wearing affect my right to consent to sex?

A person’s clothing has nothing to do with whether or not they give their consent to sex, sexual activity or touching. A girl wearing a short skirt has the same rights to consent and to refuse as a girl wearing any other items of clothing.