It's never too early to start having these conversations with young people, but it definitely can be too late.
My name is Chanel Contos and I'm the founder of Teach Us Consent.
Currently in Australia, the most common demographic to perpetrate sexual violence is a 14 to 19 year old male.
That is devastating and that is on the rise.
But the vast majority of sexual violence in Australia is preventable.
How can parents start the conversation to take a seat?
It makes complete sense to be unsure about how to have this kind of conversation about consent, especially if your parents never had it with you, but that is no excuse to not go and learn.
If you want to learn more about consent, you can start the conversations yourself. Speak with other parents, friends, and there is ample online resources.
It's important for parents and carers to have conversations with other adults about consent, to also understand where other people's children are at, and to ensure that there's a whole of community approach to raising the next generation rate of Australians to be respectful and prioritise consent.
And parents really need to step up and be willing to have these conversations with children regularly as they come up and so that they know that they have a safe place to go if they're ever in trouble.
How can we create positive social change?
In order to create positive social change around consent, I would just love there to be more conversations. It does so much. It is a domino effect, once they start.
If consent feels embarrassing and shameful, that's probably because you've never had a conversation about consent before.
It's really important to break that generational cycle of shame and silence.
What's your one message for Australians on consent?
Learning, understanding, and talking about consent. Can't wait.
For more information and conversation guides go to consent.gov.au.
