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UK SAYS NO MORE is supporting Superdrug’s new campaign ‘You Before Yes’ campaign to tackle the important issue of sexual consent.
The You Before Yes Campaign provides information, education and support to improve people’s understanding about consent and help develop more positive consent behaviours. It delves into the crucial, but too often overlooked world, of consent to open up important conversations about what consent actually means, helping people feel informed and empowered to find their voice and take positive action.
The campaign is led by campaign ambassador Georgia Harrison, other partners include UK charities, Brook, Fumble, and Switchboard.
It’s been launched in response to new research about consent conducted among over 2,000 18-21 year old, which revealed that:
- More than one third of people (36%) have ‘gone along with sex’ even though they didn’t want to. Three in ten did so out of fear of what would happen if they said no.
- 25% of people have gone along with unprotected sex when they didn’t want to. 41% of those were too afraid to say no.
- A quarter (23%) have experienced a power imbalance in a sexual relationship with 28% not recognising the relationship was imbalanced. 20% have put up with a power imbalance because they didn’t know what to do to fix it.
- 30% of 18-21 year olds have never asked a sexual partner about their sexual health history, feeling too awkward to ask them if they’ve been tested for STIs.
- Two thirds have received explicit content over text, WhatsApp or social media without their consent. Of those who have received explicit content without their consent, the majority felt uncomfortable (72%), some felt violated (25%) and a proportion felt pressured to respond (16%).
- Nearly one in five (17%) have felt groomed or manipulated into non-consensual behaviours, with 38% not being aware of the signs of grooming.
- 92% of 18-21 year olds say that sexual education didn’t improve their confidence about sex, sexual consent and relationships.
Sarah D’Angelis, UK Says No More Programme Manager at Hestia commented, “All too often, sexual violence is downplayed or laughed off, or worse victims are blamed because of what they were wearing or how much they’d had to drink. For real social change to happen, we need to create a ‘consent culture’ in the UK and talk openly about consent – that’s why UK Says No More is proud to support Superdrug’s ‘You Before Yes’ campaign.”
For more information about You Before Yes, visit www.superdrug.com/youbeforeyes
Read the blog: https://www.superdrug.com/blog/uncategorized/need-to-talk-about-sexual-consent
