What is a healthy relationship. The importance of boundaries, consent, sexual activity and consent and sexual exploitation.
What is a healthy relationship?
People can have many relationships throughout their lives, including relationships with friends, families and intimate partners. Healthy relationships encompass feelings of safety, comfort, trust, equality and honesty. People in a healthy relationship can be themselves and communicate their needs.
Support children and youth to recognize unsafe and unhealthy relationships by understanding your own values and by modelling healthy relationships.
Consent and boundaries
Consent is an important part of healthy relationships. It means giving permission for something to happen. People can say "yes" if they agree, and they also have the right to say "no". In healthy relationships, consent is understood, people communicate their boundaries and people respect the boundaries of others. Boundaries are the limits people set to show when a behavior is not okay and makes them uncomfortable.
Consent isn’t valid when a person is under the influence of substances, feels pressured into doing something or when there is a power imbalance between people. Power is the ability to influence the actions and choices of others due to unequal levels of authority, money, control or position in the community. A power imbalance occurs when one person uses their position of authority to influence the consent of another.
It is important for kids to learn about consent from a young age. It helps them have healthy relationships with family, friends and intimate partners later in life, protect them from harm and prevent causing harm to others.
Consent and sexual activity
Consent to sexual activity must be asked for and given at each stage of a sexual interaction. Consent must be given voluntarily, that is, the person giving consent must not feel pressured to do so. Even if a person has consented to sexual activity in the past, consent must be given each time.
What is the legal age of consent in Canada?
In Canada, you must be 16 years of age or older to have sex legally, with some exceptions:
- A 12- or 13-year-old can consent to sex with someone less than two years older.
- A 14- or 15-year-old can consent to sex with someone less than five years older.
- Sex with a person under the age of 12 is illegal. This is sexual assault.
Sexual exploitation
Sexual exploitation is the actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, power or trust for sexual purposes, including profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another.
A 16- or 17-year-old cannot consent to sexual activity if:
- Their sexual partner is in a position of trust or authority towards them, for example their teacher or coach.
- The young person is dependent on their sexual partner, for example for care or support.
- The relationship between the young person and their sexual partner is exploitative.
The following factors may be considered when determining whether a relationship is exploitative:
- The young person’s age.
- The age difference between the young person and the other person involved.
- How the relationship developed, for example, quickly, secretly or over the internet.
- Whether the partner may have controlled or influenced the young person.