Sexual Health Wales

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Sexual Health Wales

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Relationships and Sex Education

Relationships and sex education

Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education

RSE aims to give young people the information they need to develop healthy relationships of all kinds.

Understanding what is needed for committed relationships is covered by RSE, including contraception, developing intimate relationships, and resisting pressure to have sex. RSE explains what is acceptable behaviour and what is unacceptable behaviour in relationships.

Safe Sex

Consent

Sexual consent is an agreement to any sexual experience be it touching someone, kissing someone, or having full sex with them. It also includes consent to sharing intimate photos/videos – it is illegal to share intimate photos/videos without the person’s consent.

The age of consent is 16 in the UK, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

If you engage in any sexual activity without a person’s consent, it is sexual assault or rape. So, to protect yourself, and the person you’re intimate with, it’s really important to know you have consent. It is important to remember that someone cannot give valid consent if they are incapacitated from alcohol or other drugs. If you have been the victim of sexual assault, click here to find out how, and where, to get help.

How do I get consent?

It’s simple just ASK!

For more information on ‘What is Consent?’ visit The Mix.org

Contraception

Contraception protects against unplanned pregnancy. There are currently 15 methods of contraception available in the UK. Condoms are the only contraception that help to protect you from sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

For more information, or to find out which method is best for you, follow the ‘Contraception’ tab at the top of the homepage.

Internet safety

Think carefully about what you share:

You should not upload or share anything you would not want your parents, teachers, colleagues, or friends to see. Once you upload or send, it is no longer private and can be downloaded and/or shared by anyone. Once something is shared online, you no longer have control of it.

Do not send photos, or videos, of yourself to a stranger or to someone you have met online. Note that a person you have met online might not actu ally be who they say they are. You should never feel pressured to chat to someone online.

Sexting

What is it?

‘Sexting’ refers to the use of technology to share sexual content, content includes photos or videos of full or partial nudity and sexual images. This could be between partners, peers, and strangers and is often referred to as ‘sending nudes’.

What are the risks of sexting?

There are risks involved with sexting. When an image and/or video is shared online you lose control of it completely, it becomes public and can be saved, shared, or copied by others.

It is wrong to share a nude or personal photo without that person’s consent. It can be distressing for the victim, especially if their content is shared by someone they trusted. It can also cause emotional damage if future employers, universities, colleagues, friends, and family know it is online. If an image does get shared without your consent do not blame yourself, it is not your fault see below for how to report non consensual image or video sharing.

Is sexting illegal?

The law states that creating or sharing sexual images or videos of a child under 18 is illegal, even if the person doing it is a child. By sending this content to another person, they have created and distributed indecent image of a child. By receiving this content, that person is in possession of an indecent image of a child. These acts break the law.

How can I report a sexual image or video?

If you are worried about something you have shared, the quicker to act, the easier it is to manage the distribution of the content.

If your image or video is posted on a social media site, you can request for it to be removed. Be specific when reporting, to show that the picture/video violates the site’s terms and conditions.

Do not let the fear of getting in trouble stop you from reporting. Young people will be treated as victims. If you are worried that you have been coerced into sending explicit content, you can make a report to Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) – www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre

What should I do if I see someone else’s ‘nude’ online?

No one deserves their image or video to be shared online without consent. If you see something that you think might upset someone you can report the image to the platform/site you saw the content on, or you can contact ChildLine www.childline.org.uk

 

Useful site for online safety: