Consent and healthy relationships: the key facts

ፈቃድና ግንኙነቶች፡ ዋና ዋና ነጥቦች
ስለ ፈቃድ ማወቅ ያለብዎ ዋና ነጥቦች፣ የጤናማ እና ያልጤናማ ግንኙነት ምልክቶች እና እርዳታ የት እንደሚገኝ በአጭሩ።

Consent and healthy relationships: the key facts

What consent is

• Consent is a clear and comfortable yes given freely by both people.
• It must be freely given, with no pressure, fear, or guilt.
• It's specific. Yes to one thing isn't yes to everything.
• It can be withdrawn at any time. You can always change your mind.
• Silence isn't a yes. Real consent is clear.
• A person can't consent if they're asleep, unconscious, heavily affected by alcohol or drugs, or unable to understand what's happening. A child cannot consent to sex with an adult.

Signs of a healthy relationship

• You feel safe and respected.
• You can say no without fear.
• Your partner listens and checks in with you.
• You keep your own friends, family, and space.
• Disagreements happen without threats or punishment.
• Both people feel free and heard.

Signs of an unhealthy relationship

• You feel pressured, afraid, or controlled.
• Someone keeps pushing after you say no.
• Guilt is used to get a yes ("if you loved me…").
• Threats to leave, to expose you, or to share private photos.
• Someone uses age, money, or power over you.
• You feel you can't say no.

Where to get support

• Talk to someone you trust.
• After an assault, you can get medical care, and going soon matters. Medicine to prevent pregnancy can work for up to five days, and medicine that lowers the chance of HIV needs to start within three days. Many hospitals, including one-stop centres, offer this care and emotional support in one place.
• Talk to a Letena doctor in private. It's free, and you'll hear back within a few hours.
• WhatsApp our medical team: https://wa.me/251908182838
• Telegram, fully anonymous: https://t.me/LetenaEthBot
• Send a written question: https://letena.letena.et/ask/

A note on the law

• In Ethiopia the age of consent is 18. A person needs to be 18 to agree to sex in the eyes of the law.
• Sex with anyone under 18 is a serious offence under the Criminal Code of 2005, with heavy penalties.
• Forced sex, sex without consent, and sex obtained through threats are crimes. The law is on your side.

If any of this is happening to you, it is not your fault, and help is available whenever you're ready.