I recently had a talk with my daughters (who are both 10 years old) about sex and sexual assault/rape. We were watching a movie where rape got mentioned and the girls asked me what it was. I sat them down and explained sex to them first. That it is an enjoyable positive experience for both people, with consent! We talked about what consent meant. We then proceeded to talk about what sexual assault/rape were.

I have a book called ‘Only For Me’ that teaches children about their anatomically correct body parts and the fact that nobody should touch them. It teaches them that if anybody was to ever touch them, they MUST tell an adult they trust.

I used this to expand on with our talk. I explained that sexual assault/rape are touch/sex without consent.

We need to have more sex positive talks with our children and be honest about sexual assault/rape so that they fully understand what they need to protect themselves from.

Open and honest education is key!