A warning that this show includes discussion of sexual violence.Beth King, Education & Training Lawyer at Youthlaw, is joined by Laura Crozier, Affirmative Consent Project Officer with the Youth Affairs Council Victoria ('YACVic'), to discuss projects by Youthlaw and YACVic educating young people about the new affirmative consent laws in Victoria, which took effect on 30 July 2023. They chatted all things affirmative consent, in anticipation of their free joint webinar ‘Affirmative consent for youth workers’, which took place on Wednesday 21 May 2-3pm as part of Victorian Law Week 2025.Youthlaw (the Young People's Legal Rights Centre) is a free state-wide legal service for young people up to age 25 in Victoria. Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACVic) is the peak body and leading policy advocate for young people and the youth sector in Victoria.Key changes to consent laws were introduced by the Victorian government in the Justice Legislation Amendment (Sexual Offences and Other Matters) Act 2022 (Vic). The reforms aimed to place a greater focus on the actions of people using sexual violence to seek consent, rather than just on what victim survivors did or did not say or do.The changes include:An updated definition of consent.The introduction of the affirmative sexual consent model.Changes to circumstances where there is no consent.Clarifying that 'stealthing' (non-consensual condom removal, tampering or non-use) is a crime.Changes to image-based abuse.Improvements to the justice system to protect victim survivors, including better education and direction for members of a jury to understand sexual violence.The new laws in Victoria emphasise an affirmative approach to consent. Affirmative consent means a person must take steps to say or do something to check that the other person(s) involved are consenting to a sexual activity freely and voluntarily. This means that sexual consent can never be assumed. It involves ongoing and mutual communication and decision making between all people involved.

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