RESILIENCE, RIGHTS AND RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS 

Sexual Consent 

At MESC we are a lead school in teaching Respectful Relationships, and we begin these lessons in year 7 as part of our Health, PE and Connect classes. 

Our lessons on sexual consent start in year 9 and are best supported with conversations at home. This can be a difficult topic to navigate, but research has shown that a partnership between school and home yields the greatest success in areas of social emotional learning such as consent. 

Please use the below resource to see the data and find tips, conversation guides and facts for having these conversations with your young people.

This video is from the above resource and gives a snapshot of the importance of consent education.

Definition

Consent is a clear, enthusiastic ‘yes’ and nothing else. You should be able to read a positive tone, comfortable body language, a smile and a big ‘yes’ all point to consent being given. 

Acronym – DEVICES

D             Definite – It’s a definite ‘yes’ or it’s not Consent. ‘Maybe’, ‘I don’t know,’ ‘depends’, and ‘not sure’, don’t count. Neither does silence. It must be an affirmative, definite yes. 

E             Enthusiastic – It’s given genuinely and with enthusiasm; it’s made clear that it’s something the person very much wants to do. 

V             Voluntary – It’s not given because that person feels like they have to. They are not coerced or forced; they give consent of their own free will. 

I               Informed – People know exactly what they’re agreeing to. That means explaining what will happen and the potential of consequences and risks of the agreement to all involved. It also means obtaining consent again if details of the agreement change. 

C             Continuous – Consent is not a one time thing. It is ongoing, must be given at every stage of the agreement and can be taken back at any time. 

E             Everyone – Everyone involved in an act must have consent that follows DEVICES.

S             Specific – It refers to one specific act; it does not give you free rein to do anything else unless consent is obtained again. 

For further information or questions please contact 

Penny Linardos, Engagement Leader plinardos@mesc.vic.edu.au