Consent means free and voluntary agreement. Consent means only doing something because everyone involved really wants to. 

There is no consent if anyone is feeling pressured, obligated or unsure. There may not be consent if someone is drunk or affected by drugs.

Being touched with your consent is called indecent assault – and that’s sexual violence.

Indecent assault is when someone intentionally touches another person in a sexual manner without their free and voluntary agreement. 

It can still be a serious criminal offence, even if there is no physical injury or obvious force involved.

This kind of behaviour can happen to anyone, and it is never the responsibility of the person who experienced it.

Someone taking advantage of you when you can’t consent is called rape – and that’s sexual violence.

Rape is a serious criminal offence involving sexual penetration of a person without their consent. This can include any kind of sexual penetration like vaginal, anal, or oral done with a body part or object, or forcing someone else into it without their free and voluntary consent.

It can affect anyone, regardless of gender, and is most commonly carried out by someone the person knows, such as a partner, friend, family member, or acquaintance.

Being pressured into sex without your consent is called sexual coercion – and that’s sexual violence.

Sexual coercion is when someone pressures, manipulates, or tricks you into sexual activity you don’t want. It can include guilt, repeated pressure, threats, alcohol, or emotional control, not just physical force.

If you said no, or felt uncomfortable, pressured, scared, or unsure but went along anyway, that is not consent.

Someone sharing or threatening to share intimate images of you without your consent is called image-based abuse – and that’s sexual violence. 

This can include sending or posting private images online or threatening to share them on social media or other platforms.

It also includes deepfakes, where images or videos are digitally altered or created using artificial intelligence to make it look like someone is in a sexual, nude, or humiliating situation when they are not.

It is also known as sexual extortion or sextortion when someone uses these images to blackmail a person for money, more images, or other demands.