In Ireland you must be over the age of 17 to legally give sexual consent.

What does it mean to give consent?

Giving sexual consent means that you willingly agree, without being put under pressure, forced, scared, drunk, or on drugs, to be involved in sexual activity such as touching, taking naked pictures or having sexual intercourse.

Communication is extremely important when it comes to consent. In order to keep everyone safe and happy, have a chat about what you and your partner want or don’t want to do.

There are some important things to know about consent before you have a sexual relationship with someone:

Both people who are going to have a sexual relationship must consent to it
To be sure that the other person is giving consent to sexual activities, you need to check with them by asking and they must answer positively (e.g. say 'Yes'). Someone not saying 'no' does not count as consent to sexual activities
People cannot give consent if they have been drinking alcohol or taking drugs
Flirting, or 'going along with', sexual activities, is not the same as giving consent
Consent does not last forever. Just because you, or someone else, agreed to sexual activities before, does not mean you, or they, have agreed to sexual activities again
If you agree to one kind of sexual activity, it does not mean you have given consent for something else
You are free to take your consent away at any time
It is important to always respect your partner's decisions. This is important to help them feel safe and accepted

Things to remember

Everyone has the right to feel safe, happy and comfortable in a relationship.

You have the right to say no if you are not comfortable with a situation.

No one has the right to hurt or force another person to do something they don’t want to do.

Nobody should ever do something sexual without your full consent.

It is important to respect the other person’s decisions and if they don’t want to do something, it’s important to support them and not make them feel pressured or guilty.

Support is available

You have the right to support and to talk about what is going on for you. Is there a trusted adult you can talk with about what’s happening and how you’re feeling? Childline is always here for you. You can talk with Childline for free and in confidence at any time.