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Some gymnasts tell of sexual abuse. One says her coach would âhave an erection which I could feel him pushing repetitively on my hips or back while grunting and sighingâ.
Another says she and her peers developed a coping code. âAs a group, we tried to have signs and signals to help us avoid it even slightly,â she says. âWe whispered things like, âheâs got wandering hands today, try and avoid him if you canâ.â
A third tells of how a massage therapist would abuse her, with her unaware mother in the room. âI would lie face down on the massage table with tears streaming down my face in silence,â she says. âI remember it being incredibly painful, but I did not want to complain.â
Consent is a tricky topic for teens – but split-second decisions can have life-altering consequences.
There are many problems with young people not understanding what consent actually means from a legal perspective.
So how do we fix that?
Adair Donaldson is an ambassador for Rape and Domestic Violence Services of Australia, a Respectful Relationships Committee member for the NRL, and a Director of Donaldson Law in Toowoomba.
He joined ABC Radio Brisbane s Rebecca Levingston to talk about how we can better understand consent.
Duration: 14min 13sec