World Sexual Health Day: Consent (September 4th)
Posted August 31, 2023
The 2023 theme for World Sexual Health Day is Consent.
Consent is the cornerstone of any empowering sexual experience. It’s about cherishing everyone’s autonomy and decisions in their intimate lives beyond race, bodily ability, gender or sexual orientation.
What is consent?
Consent is permission. No one can touch another person’s body without permission. All partners must give consent for any sexual activity.
Consent Isn’t Just About Sex
Consent is required before any sexual activity and in many non-sexual scenarios as well. You need consent for things like:
- Kissing
- Hugging
- Sharing food
- Touching any body part
- Exposing your genitals
- Taking or sharing sexual photos or videos
Understanding Consent: FRIES
A fun way to remember the different parts of consent is the acronym, FRIES.
- Freely and Willingly: It isn’t consent if there is pressure, manipulation, or influence of drugs or alcohol.
- Reversible: You can change your mind about sex at any time and remove consent. Even if it is your long-term partner, even if you already agreed, even if you’ve done it before, or even if you’re in the middle of sex.
- Informed: You can only consent to something if you have the full story. For example, if someone says they’ll use a condom and then they don’t, there isn’t full consent.
- Enthusiastic: Sex is about doing things that you want to do, not things you have to do! Enthusiastic can mean the difference between an ‘okay’ or ‘I guess’ vs a ‘absolutely’ or ‘hell yes!’
- Specific: You must be specific about what you’re asking consent for. For example, saying yes to kissing does not mean someone has consented to penetrative sex. Agreeing to hang out at someone’s apartment doesn’t mean agreeing sex—even if it’s 3:00 am.
A Lifetime of Consent
How will you celebrate World Sexual Health Day (WSHD) on September 4, 2023? There are many ways both organizations and individuals can participate in this global celebration. Our toolkit offers ideas on how you can participate in WSHD and links to related resources.
Check out these archived webinars from Pacific AETC on sexual health topics (click on the titles to register:
- HIV Learning Network: Sexual History Taking, by Danny Toub, MD, AAHIVS, HIV Clinician, Santa Rosa Community Health, and Family Medicine Residency Faculty, Sutter Santa Rosa.
- HIV Learning Network: DoxyPEP for the Prevention of Bacterial STIs, by Nicole Bayard, DNP, FNP, Nurse Practitioner Fellow – HIV and STIs, Santa Rosa Community Health
- PrEP Ready! Community of Practice: Constructing your HIV Prevention Package
- PrEP Ready! Community of Practice: Essential PrEP Screening Skills: Discussing Sex and Sexuality
About WSHD
In 2010, the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) called all their organizations to celebrate, on each September 4th, the World Sexual Health Day (WSHD) in an effort to promote a greater social awareness on sexual health across the globe.
World Sexual Health Day (WSHD) has been celebrated in 60 countries with a wide range of activities from round tables of discussion to conferences and art exhibitions. Country organizers have taken WSHD activities to schools, media, hospitals, libraries, universities, public squares, art halls, and theater groups. WAS wants to ensure that sexual health issues are discussed everywhere!
