sexual health info

Consent

The law says sex and sexual touching must always be consensual. This means:

• Each person involved must freely agree (consent). 
• If you don't freely agree and someone pressures or threatens you in any way to make you agree, they're breaking the law.
• If someone has sex with you or touches you sexually when you can't give your consent freely (e.g. because you're asleep, unconscious or affected by alcohol or drugs), they're breaking the law. 

Age

You need to know the rules for your age. Not knowing is no excuse. Even if a person says they didn't know the rules about age limits, they can still be charged with a sexual offence. 

Under 12 years
It's against the law to have sex with a child under 12 years in any circumstances.

If you're aged under 12 years, the law says:

• You can't freely agree (consent) to sex, sexual touching or sexual acts being performed in front of you.

12-15 years
If you're aged between 12 and 15 years, the law says:

• You can't freely agree (consent) to sex, sexual touching or sexual acts being performed in front of you, if the person involved is more than two years older than you.

16-17 years
If you're aged between 16 and 17 years, the law says:

• You can freely agree (consent) to sex, sexual touching or sexual acts being performed in front of you by anyone, except someone who provides you with care or supervision or someone who has authority over you. This includes, but is not limited to, parents, guardians, teachers and employers.

18 years and over
If you're aged 18 years or older, the law says:

• You can consent to have sex with anyone else over the age of 18 years.