Affirmative Sexual Consent

To give sexual consent is to agree to a sexual act. It must be a free and voluntary agreement, and no one involved in the sexual act should feel forced, coerced, or threatened.

The Victorian government has brought in reforms to provide key changes to consent laws under the Justice Legislation Amendment (Sexual Offences and Other Matters ) Act 2022. The shift to an affirmative consent model places responsibility onto perpetrators of sexual violence rather than victim survivors. The changes include:

• Updated definition of consent
• Affirmative consent model
• Inclusion of stealthing (non-consensual condom removal) as a sexual offence
• Changes to image-based abuse
• Improvements to the justice system to better protect victim survivors
• Including better education and direction for jury members to understand sexual violence

• Force, fear, coercion, or harm of any kind
• Abuse of a relationship, authority or trust
• If a condom is not used when it is agreed it will be used
• If a condom is removed or tampered with

Yes. Just because someone has given consent doesn't mean they can't change their mind. If someone doesn't feel safe or respected about withdrawing their consent, then that is not consensual sex.

Saying yes to sex does not automatically mean 'yes' to all types of sex, e.g., consenting to vaginal sex doesn’t mean you consent to anal sex. You need to communicate throughout the act and make sure you both give consent.

Know your legal rights:

• Justice Legislation Amendment (Sexual Offences and Other Matters) Act 2022
• Victorian Legal Aid: Sex and the Law
• Youth Law Australia: What is Consent?

For further support:

• Sexual Assualt Services Victoria
• 1800 Respect: Consent