Answers to the Common Questions on Consent and Healthy Relationships
Consent and Healthy Relationships: straight answers to the questions people actually ask, with the figures behind them.
Freely given, informed and ongoing agreement to sexual activity.
Key takeaways
- Consent must be: freely given, informed, and able to be withdrawn at any time
- Capacity: someone incapacitated by alcohol or drugs cannot consent
- Most useful single change: Check in rather than assume; consent is ongoing, not one-off.
- Commonest mistake: Assuming previous consent applies to a later occasion.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.
What is Consent and Healthy Relationships?
Freely given, informed and ongoing agreement to sexual activity.
Why does it matter?
Consent is a legal and practical framework rather than an abstract idea, and knowing what it requires is part of health literacy.
Consent must be for Consent and Healthy Relationships?
Freely given, informed, and able to be withdrawn at any time.
Age of consent in the UK for Consent and Healthy Relationships?
16.
Sexual Assault Referral Centres for Consent and Healthy Relationships?
Support with or without police involvement.
Coercive control for Consent and Healthy Relationships?
A criminal offence in England and Wales.
What is the single most useful thing to do?
Check in rather than assume; consent is ongoing, not one-off.
What is the most common mistake?
Assuming previous consent applies to a later occasion.
When should I see a doctor?
If you have experienced sexual assault, you can get help from a Sexual Assault Referral Centre with or without involving the police, and they can arrange medical care, emergency contraception and PEP for HIV — PEP must be started within 72 hours. Call 999 if you are in immediate danger. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247, free and 24 hours.
Where to go next
- The Consent and Healthy Relationships Checklist: What to Do and What to Skip
- What People Get Wrong About Consent and Healthy Relationships
- Consent and Healthy Relationships — the reference entry
- The Evidence on Sexual Health in Later Life, Without the Hype
- Sexually Transmitted Infections: What Published Guidance Supports
When to speak to a doctor
If you have experienced sexual assault, you can get help from a Sexual Assault Referral Centre with or without involving the police, and they can arrange medical care, emergency contraception and PEP for HIV — PEP must be started within 72 hours. Call 999 if you are in immediate danger. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247, free and 24 hours.
Where this comes from
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.
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