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Body safety & autonomy
Learn how to recognise your body's signals and understand when something might be wrong. Discover the importance of listening to your body and trusting your instincts. Identify physical and emotional signs of discomfort or distress, and learn how to respond to them effectively.
Listen to what your body is telling you
Some not okay body clues are:
Some happy body clues are:
Your body is your body!
Sexual consent is an agreement between people to share a sexual act.
Consent must be given freely and happily, with shared understanding of what is going to happen.
It is consent when people know they want to do the sexual activities and they make sure their partner does too.
The Consent Continuum is a great resource to help people understand what is and is not consent.
The Consent Continuum is a great resource to help people understand what is and is not consent.
Behaviour that is not OK at work
Offensive behaviour or harassment
This includes anything that offends, humiliates, or insults people on the basis of an attribute. This could be nasty behaviour or annoying people; anything that upsets or embarrasses people; or being rude about a person because of something about them, like their race, religion, weight, gender, or disability.
Sexual harassment
This includes behaviour of a sexual nature which subjects someone to unwanted physical acts, advances or requests, comments, gestures, or actions. Behaviour that is sexual and is not wanted by other people, including touching, asking people to do sexual things, making comments, noises or movements that are sexual.
Victimisation
A person must not harass another person because they have, or intend to, make a complaint. If someone makes a complaint, or is going to make a complaint, it is not ok to bully them.
Inciting hatred
This is a public act which provokes hatred towards, serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of, a person or a group of people on the basis of an attribute. This also includes getting other people to bully someone because of something about them, like their race, religion, weight, gender, or disability.
Promoting or aiding discrimination and prohibited conduct
This includes the publishing or display of any sign or notice that promotes, expresses, or depicts discrimination or prohibited conduct (unless it is discouraging discrimination or prohibited conduct).
This also includes creating or putting up any sign, poster or picture that supports bullying, nasty behaviour, or behaviour that is not ok at work.
Understanding consent laws in Tasmania
There are laws that tell us what the age of consent is.
- If you are under 12 years old, you are not able to consent. Sex with anyone under 12 is against the law.
- If you are over 12 years old, it might be OK if your partner is no more than 3 years older than you.
- If you are over 15 years old, it might be OK if your partner is no more than 5 years older than you.
- If you are over 17 years old, you are able to consent if your partner is over 14 years old.
Everyone has a responsibility to know the age of their partner.
| Your age | Legally informed consent |
|---|---|
| Under 12 | Not able to consent |
| 12 years | Might be OK if your partner is 12-15 years old |
| 13 years | Might be OK if your partner is 12-16 years old |
| 14 years | Might be OK if your partner is 12-17 years old |
| 15 years | Might be OK if your partner is 12-20 years old |
| 16 years | Might be OK if your partner is 13-21 years old |
| 17 years | Able to consent if your partner is 14+ years old |
Image based abuse and online safety
If you share a picture with just one person, you no longer have control over who else might see it.
Here are some forms of image based or online abuse.
Doxing
When someone shares your personal information on the internet.
Sextortion
When someone threatens to share pictures of you on the internet unless you pay them money or do sexual acts with them.
Catfishing
When someone pretends to be a different person online. They might pretend to be a different gender, age or be interested in the same things as you. Usually done to get you to trust them and be friends with them.
Deepfake
A new picture that is made from two or more pictures, e.g. it might be your face on someone else’s body.
Understanding pornography
Pornography (or porn) is the name for pictures or videos that show sexual acts or naked bodies.
Porn is made to create sexual feelings. It is not always made with consent and rarely shows consensual relationships.
- Porn is not real.
- Porn is made to look good.
- Real life sex should feel good.
Respectful relationships have trust, good communication, kindness, empathy (sharing feelings), honesty, equality (sharing power, money or ideas evenly), respect for each other’s ideas and thoughts, and liking each other’s strengths.
A respectful relationship does not have people using power and control over each another.
A respectful relationship feels good and should never make you feel scared or unsafe.
With every right that we have it means that we also have the responsibility to do the same to other people.
Conversation starters
Who is allowed to touch your body without consent or without asking first?
No one.
Your body is yours and no one is allowed to touch you without consent.
Some people, like doctors or dentists, might get consent by having you, a parent or guardian sign a consent form.
This only gives them permission to touch you to give you the care that has been described to you.
This doesn’t mean they can touch you in other ways and you can still change your mind and take away the consent.
The police should ask and let you know before they touch you and should only touch if they need to keep you or someone else safe.
Do you like lots of personal space (like people to stay back) or do you like a little personal space (like people to be close to you)?
Our personal space is the space around us that we like to have control over. People have different sized personal space, and different people they like to let into their personal space.
People with a small space might come close to you, while people with a bigger space might stay back.
Our personal space can change for different people and on different days. If people are in your space and you don’t like it, it is OK to ask them to move back. Even if it is someone who you usually like in your personal space it can change and you can ask them to stay further away.
If someone is in your personal space and you like it, what happens to your body? Does your body give you any clues that let you know you like it?
Our body is very clever, and it can let us know when we like something. When things are good and we are happy we might smile, laugh, open our arms, and have relaxed legs.
When we do not like something we might feel like crying, have goosebumps, feel our heart racing, have wobbly legs, feel sick or have sweaty palms.
We can react in different ways if we don’t like something – we might freeze up, or run away, or put up a fight.
It is important to listen to our body clues and let people know if something is making us feel good or bad.
Who can make decisions about your health, your body, pregnancy, sex, contraception and sexual activity?
Your body belongs to you so any decision about you should be made by you. Some people with disability may have a guardian who is allowed to make decisions for them. The guardian and the person who has a disability should make sure the decisions are made together. If you have a guardian, you can tell them what you want and decide together what is best for you.
No one can decide that you must get pregnant, have sex or sexual activity.
Children and young people should have help to make decisions about their body rather than having a decision made for them.
Check out our supported decision making guide for more information about this.
Can people with disability make a decision about using contraception or the type of contraception they use?
People with disability have a right to make choices about contraception (medication or things that help to prevent pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections or to stop periods) even if they have a guardian.
All people have a right to talk to a doctor about contraception and make decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.
Some of the choices might be to use medication (called the pill), use condoms, have a little device put in the uterus, or to have no contraception and to try to have a baby. People with disability can say no to having surgery that will stop you from ever having babies (sterilisation) or to having a termination.
No one else has the right to make this decision without you being involved.
Get help now
If you, or anyone else is in immediate danger, call 000
Northern Tasmania
North West Tasmania
If you require assistance outside of business hours, please call the 24/7 Statewide Support number below:
Have a less urgent enquiry?
Please fill out the form below and your enquiry will be responded to within two business days
