Mitchell

“Maybe it’s my lucky day! Pretty girls that are single are hard to find”

Consent

Understanding consent shouldn’t be confusing. It’s all about making sure each of you has the ability and freedom to make a choice each and every time.

• Ask if it’s ok and wait for a positive response
• If your partner is drunk, high, or pressured in any way then they can’t give full consent
• Consider your partner so that you can both relax and enjoy being with each other
• In the UK the law says sexual activity with someone under 16 is a criminal offence
• The law is there to protect young people from exploitation.
• Just because you are 16 years of age (or older) doesn’t mean you are ready for sex.
• Wait until you feel ready and are with someone you trust and care for, and who is considerate and respectful of you.

You can find out more about consent by following these links:

The Mix – Sexual consent
Tea Consent

Rape

Having sex with someone who has not given consent is rape. An experience of rape or sexual assault can have many life changing effects: Some people may…

• Feel isolated and withdrawn
• Lose some of their self-esteem and self-worth
• Drop out of school, college or workFind that their relationships with friends and
• families are damaged
• Develop mental health issues
• Struggle with future relationships

Why do sexual assault survivors feel shame?
Rape and Sexual Assault

Be a good boyfriend/girlfriend

• It is never OK to make someone do something they don’t want to or to make them feel scared or intimidated.
• Build trust – you shouldn’t need to know where each other is all the time.
• Jealousy is ugly – give each other space/time to spend alone or with other friends and family.
• If you hurt or upset someone with your words, take responsibility and say sorry.
• Learn from your mistakes and learn what your partner needs from you
• Try using ‘I statements’ to communicate how you feel to someone who has upset you…I feel _______ when you ______ because ______

Find out more about healthy relationships.

What is revenge porn?

It’s against UK law to share private sexual photographs and films of someone without their consent and with the intent to cause distress. This is commonly referred to as “revenge porn”. This applies to people over the age of 18. Anyone found guilty of this offence could face a prison sentence of up to two years, a fine or both. Sexting by people under the age of 18 is against the law because it involves sharing a sexual image of a child.

• Don’t ever pressurise someone into sending a sexualised image, text or video.
• You will be putting them at risk and you will also be breaking the law.
• Remember that once you send an image you lose control over what will happen to it.
• Relationships do break down and in the aftermath of a breakdown people can behave badly.
• If this happens to you make sure you talk to someone and get support.
• You can also report this to the website where it’s posted and they will take the image down.
• Go to the revenge porn helpline for more information and support.

How to be a ‘real’ man

• Working out who you are can be difficult. Our brains are still developing well into our twenties even once we’ve become adults. Here’s a few tips for the journey.
• Try out new stuff and challenge yourself
• Find out what you’re good at and feel confident doing it
• Be yourself. Don’t feel you have to follow the crowd
• Experiment with your values and give them your own voice
• Respect others and you’ll get respect back
• Mistakes are to learn from
• Don’t suffer in silence – that thing about men not showing emotions is a myth
• Guys need to express their passion and worries too. Talk it out!
• Move on! There’s always another day to put this one in perspective.

Here are a couple of our favourite inspiring messages for men:
Tony Porter’s TedTalk ‘A Call To Men‘