Wellbeing News
Talking about CONSENT
Consent might be an awkward topic to broach with your teens, but it is so important that they understand what consent is. Talking to your teens about sex and consent helps them understand their rights and what safe and healthy sex should be like.
Early talks about consent, when children are young, can lay the groundwork for open and direct conversations about sexual consent when children are older. For younger children, parents can introduce ideas about consent long before they relate it to sex.
For example, parents can:
- respect children’s choices about touch and privacy,
- teach children about respecting other people’s choices and boundaries,
- draw children’s attention to nonverbal cues that indicate consent,
- ask for consent for things like sharing images.
As children move toward the teenage years, parents can start talking more openly and directly about sexual consent. For example, parents can:
- explain that clear, respectful and constant communication is key to sexual consent,
- encourage teenagers to think about how their behaviours during sex can make other people feel,
- talk about how to give and seek consent,
- let teenagers know that it’s OK to say no and that pressure to have sex isn’t always violent or forceful – it can be verbal or emotional.
See the links below for more information about consent and having the conversation with your children and young people.
- https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/connecting-communicating/tough-topics/sexual-consent-how-to-talk-with-children-teens
- https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/development/puberty-sexual-development/getting-giving-sexual-consent-talking-with-teens
- https://parents.au.reachout.com/common-concerns/everyday-issues/things-to-try-talking-about-sex/how-to-teach-your-teenager-about-consent
FREE online webinar: Navigating consent and relationships in a s*xed up world
Free online webinar - Navigating consent and relationships in a s*xed up world. The webinar will be presented by Daniel and Melinda from Collective Shout - a grassroots campaign working against the objectification of women and the s*xualisation of girls in media advertising and popular culture. They talk will help parents to address this toxic culture and provide practice tips on raising happy, healthy and resilient young people.
- When: Thursday 28 September, 6-7:30pm
- Who: Staff, parents, carers, and the wider community services sector. It would be appreciated if you could share amongst your network of contacts.
- How to register: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/1f553553-0dc2-4dda-8caa-d94306fcb017@137ad73c-d4cc-4dbe-a7f2-0ac53e83db5b
- Cost: Free!
- Summary: Drawing from current global literature and the experiences of young people, Melinda and Daniel will explore how the rapid rise of s*xualised images and messages contributes to a distorted view of bodies, relationships and se*uality, hampering their healthy physical, emotional and social development. They help parents to address this toxic culture and provide practice tips on raising happy, healthy and resilient young people who value their dignity and self-worth and aspire to relationships based on respect and authentic connection.
Some topics discussed may be confronting, viewer discretion is advised.