Consent

Consent is the most universal sexual health principle on the planet.

 Consent means “voluntary cooperation” (Wertheimer, 2003, p. 124) and communicates permission to try and reach sexual satisfaction and intimacy with willing partners. Each country, society, religion, culture and set of laws has methods for defining when sex is consensual and when it is not. The age of consent varies by country, and in the U.S. varies by state. Sexual non-consent forces children and adults into sexual experiences that are not desired or wanted. Sexual crimes against children are commonly violated in the victim’s home. Adult non-consensual sexual violations and rape are commonly committed by someone the victim knows or is in a relationship.

 Consent transforms the act of sex from an invasion, intrusion or violation into an act of transformation.

Establishing consent throughout a sexual interaction provides partners a space for sexual safety and pleasure that is consistent with their sexual desires. When consent is given, one is saying, “I want this experience to have an effect on me, to change me, to give me something that I desire, and I want you to provide it for me.”