Harmful sexual behaviour is an overarching term to describe behaviour of a sexual nature that is not consented to.
No consent is harmful sexual behaviour.
What is consent?
- Consent involves ongoing and mutual communication, decision-making and free and voluntary agreement between everyone involved.
- Every person has a right to choose whether or not to participate in a sexual act.
- Consent is informed and specific. Consenting to one type of sexual activity isn’t consenting to everything.
- Consent needs to be sought every time. You can’t assume that you have consent just because you’ve had sexual contact before.
- Consent can be withdrawn at any time, by words or conduct.
- Consent can't be given if someone:
- is under 16;
- is being intimated, cocerced or threatened;
- is unconscious;
- is too drunk;
- is too high on drugs;
- is misled or mistaken about the identity of any person involved;
- is misled or mistake about the situation;
- who does not have capacity to consent because of their phsysical disability or cognitive capacity.
