Consent

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Consenting to sexual activity means agreeing of one’s own free will, without coercion or threat, to engage in the sexual activity in question. Furthermore, the law requires that a person take all reasonable steps to ensure their partner’s consent.

Consent is not valid if:

It is expressed by a person other than the victim;
The victim is incapable of consenting to the activity;
The perpetrator abuses the victim’s trust and uses his position of authority and power to obtain what he desires;
The victim expresses refusal, through words, gestures, behaviour, or any other means.

Furthermore, a person who has consented to engage in sexual activity may at any time express refusal to continue, through words, gestures, behaviour, or any other means.

Age of Consent

The age of consent in Canada is 16 years, which means that a person aged 16 and under cannot give consent to sexual intercourse. However, there are certain exceptions where the law does not consider it criminal:

A person aged 14 or 15 who consents to have sexual intercourse with another person less than five years older;
A person aged 12 or 13 who consents to have sexual intercourse with another person less than two years older.

These exceptions are only valid if the older person is not in a position of authority or trust and it is not a case of exploitation.

The law also stipulates that a person under 12 years of age cannot under any circumstances consent to a relationship of a sexual nature

For consent to be considered valid, it must:

Be given by oneself (parents or romantic and sexual partners cannot give it on our behalf);
Be given when the person is in a state to do so. If one is not capable of consenting to sexual activity (if one has consumed alcohol or drugs, if one is unconscious or asleep, etc.), the consent will not be considered valid;

It is possible to withdraw one’s consent at any time. This means that even if she says yes to someone and she changes her mind along the way for one reason or another, the partner has the obligation to stop the activity.