Consent includes:

Clear: Consent is Active

• It’s expressed through words or actions that create mutually understandable permission.
• Consent is never implied, and the absence of no is not a yes.
• Silence is NOT consent.
• “I’m not sure,” “I don’t know,” “Maybe” and similar phrases are NOT consent.

Coherent: People incapacitated by drugs or alcohol cannot consent

• Someone who cannot make rational, reasonable decisions because they lack the capacity to understand the “who, what, when, where, why or how” of the situation cannot consent.
• People who are asleep or in another vulnerable position cannot consent.

Willing: Consent is never given under pressure

• Consent is not obtained through psychological or emotional manipulation.
• Consent cannot be obtained through physical violence or threat.
• Someone in an unbalanced power situation (i.e. someone under your authority) cannot consent.

Ongoing: Consent must be granted every time

• Consent must be obtained at each step of physical intimacy. If someone consents to one sexual activity, they may or may not be willing to go further.