Every time two people have sex or do anything sexual together, they both need to have given their consent to whatever happens. Just because you’ve had sex with someone before, and even if you’re in a relationship with them, doesn’t mean you can assume they’ve given their consent every time, and they should never assume you’ve consented to anything sexual either. It’s really important that we check in with the other person and make sure anything sexual that happens between us is what we both want, every time. If we don’t, we could be breaking the law and risking causing long-term hurt and trauma to the other person. We all have the right to give, refuse or take back our sexual consent at any time. No-one should ever pressure you into saying ‘yes’ to sex or make you feel guilty about saying ‘no’; that’s not real consent. And sex without consent is sexual violence.
