Teen Pregnancy Prevention: Consent
Consent and why it's important
Consent is an agreement between participants to engage in sexual activity. Consent does not have to be verbal, but it's important to note that consent is important each and every time sexual activity occurs.
Test your relationship's health by taking these short quizzes.
Healthy Relationship Quizzes
Consent is NOT
- Refusing to acknowledge "no."
- Engaging in sex with someone who is incapacitated because of drugs or alcohol.
- Assuming because someone is acting a certain way, wearing a certain type of outfit, flirting, or kissing is an invitation for more to occur.
- Using fear, power, or intimidation to pressure someone into sex.
- Failing to stop when someone asks, or gives cues they are uncomfortable.
- Engaging in sex with someone who is defined by the state as being under the age of legal consent.
- Assuming because you have engaged in sex before with another individual, you can do so again.
- Implied. There is no such thing as implied consent. The absence of a "no" does not imply "yes."
How to practice healthy consent
Healthy consent means encourages healthy communication, which leads to healthy relationships! By communicating, individuals can establish what is comfortable to them and what is not comfortable to them - establishing these boundaries is one way to make sure all individuals involved and happy and healthy.
To practice healthy consent, try these tips below:
- Ask questions, like "are you comfortable with this?" or "Does this feel ok with you?"
- Be aware of body language and other nonverbal cues to how someone may feel.
- If you feel you are getting mixed signals or are confused at any time by what someone wants, stop and discuss it.
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