Thank you to Constable Nate Worthington from the Palmerston North Police who has presented at assemblies for young men in Years 12 and 13 this week. Constable Worthington delivered an important message about consent and the expectations for people in intimate situations. “Consent is everything. You don’t want to be getting a phone call from the Police on Monday morning regarding an allegation made against you from the weekend.”
Constable Worthington gave a victim perspective and used drinking tea as an analogy. ”An unconscious person cannot drink the tea or consent to drinking the tea… Just because you made someone a cup of tea last time and they drank it, doesn’t mean they want to have another cup of tea.”
He also spoke about obligations under the Harmful Digital Communications Act and the importance of looking out for your friends in social situations. By-standers were encouraged to become up-standers, looking after their mates and letting them know if what they were doing (or posting on social media) was ‘not cool’.
New laws regarding social media were also discussed and students were made aware that they must have permission before they record an image of someone and they must also get permission to then post that image on social media.
In summary, Constable Worthington said “Have a plan, go in groups, stick together, eat, control your alcohol intake, look after your friends and make sure that expressed consent is given.
Check out the ‘Cup of Tea’ video:
