The need for consent is not limited to sexual penetration; it also includes oral sex, sexual touching and other behaviour of a sexual nature. Consent must be acquired before and during all sexual acts and behaviours. People cannot give consent when they are feeling forced, coerced or intimidated, or so affected by drugs or alcohol that they cannot freely agree.
Consent
Consent is a voluntary and informed agreement to participate in a sexual act. Consent must be acquired before and during all sexual acts and behaviours. People cannot give consent when they are feeling forced, coerced or intimidated, or so affected by drugs or alcohol that they cannot freely agree. Consent is never implied by silence or lack of resistance.
Important Rules of Consent:
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Assumed consent does not exist. It is your responsibility to say or do something to check that the other person(s) involved are consenting to every step of the activity. This is called ‘affirmative sexual consent’.
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Following that, simply because your horizontal dance partner consents to kissing, does not imply that they are consenting to sex. Agreeing to one act does not mean they agree to anything further.
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Silence or lack of resistance is not consent. Take an enthusiastic yes or nothing at all.
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If someone is so affected by drugs or alcohol that they are not in full control of themselves, they legally cannot consent to sex.
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Consent may be withdrawn at any point without consequence. Even in the middle of an act, if either you or your partner(s) are no longer feeling it, everything must come to a halt.
Consent is:
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Mutual
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Freely given
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Informed
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Clearly communicated
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Enthusiastic
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Reversible
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Specific
Consent is not given if they:
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Do not resist physically or verbally
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Submit to the act due to fear, force, threat, or intimidation
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Submit to abuse of a relationship of trust or authority
Consent Laws
Consent laws have been revised in recent years, stipulating that consent may no longer be assumed and requires ongoing and mutual communication. Any party may withdraw their consent at any time without consequences, and while they may agree to one act this does not imply that they agree to any further acts. I.e. kissing does not imply consent to sex. This is referred to as affirmative sexual consent.
Affirmative consent places the responsibility on each individual participating in a sexual act to take steps to say or do something to check that the person(s) involved are consenting to the activity. Under the new reforms, a belief in consent is not reasonable if, within a reasonable time before or during the act, the person does not do or say anything to confirm whether the other person(s) consents.
The legal age of consent is 16 years of age in NSW, ACT, QLD, WA and NT, while it is 17 in SA and TAS. The only exception to this is the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Law, which states that if a person is less than two years older than a young person under the age of consent, it is not an offence to have sexual contact with them, providing that they are over the age of 10 and are consenting. These laws exist in recognition of the fact that teenagers are developing sexually, that young people can validly consent to sex with someone else of a similar age, and that this activity should not be criminalised.
Legislation in all states and territories, except for QLD, criminalises a person in a position of authority or in a care-taking role to have sexual interactions with a person under their special care who is aged 16 or 17 years.
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A person in a supervisory role providing special care may include: a teacher, a foster parent or authorised carer, a religious official or spiritual leader, a medical practitioner, an employer of the child or a custodial official.
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This means that the age at which you can consent to sex with a person in a position of authority over you is 18.
