Workshops on engaging young people about healthy relationships, sex positivity, consent and safe sex will be held in Busselton next month.
Youth Educating Peers (YEP) will be holding the sessions to provide participants with skills to increase their capacity to engage young people on these topics.
The group work directly with youth aged from 12 to 25 years old, as well as, support professionals who work with young people in the youth sector.
The workshops are suitable for anyone in the community who works with young people, providing participants with strategies, resources and activities they can use with their clients.
YEP project coordinator Lorna Graham-Geraghty said they used harm minimisation and sex positive approaches that were inline with the youth work code of ethics.
"Consent is something we have seen an increase in our requests, media attention on the topic has created a shift," she said.
"We particularly focus on at risk populations and people who are disengaged from school, and run small interactive workshops that are more accessible within those populations and for people with learning needs.
"It is great that school and communities are aware that this is something they need to be talking about with their young people, there is a huge demand for it.
"From a young persons perspective it is something they want to learn more about. They know what consent is but it is about how they put that into everyday practice.
"For the most part people have really good skills in boundaries, saying no or being assertive, it is just that they may not realise they have those skills.
"It is about doing work around getting them to recognise signs of their own bodies, what their gut is telling them and things they can do to give and not give consent in everyday language.
"Some young people might not feel comfortable talking about consent verbally and might prefer to write it down or they would rather text about it.
"If that is what they want to do that is okay too, the main thing is that they are talking about it and making sure everybody is okay and that they are comfortable and their partner feels comfortable."
Ms Graham-Geraghty said they would love as many people as possible who work with young people to attend the open sessions in Busselton which include workshops on:
Sex Positivity, Safe Sex, the Syphilis Outbreak, Healthy Relationships, and Consent, to be held from 9.30am to 2pm on August 4 at the Busselton Community Resource Centre. For more information or to book visit events.humanitix.com/yepbusseltonpd1.
LGBTIQA+ 101, to be held from 3.30pm to 5.30pm on August 3 at Busselton Senior High School. More information and bookings can be made at events.humanitix.com/yepbusseltonpd2.
Healthy Relationships and Consent will be held from 3.30pm to 5.30pm on August 4 at Busselton Senior High School. Information and bookings can be made at events.humanitix.com/yepbusseltonpd3.
For more information about YEP please visit theyepproject.org.au.
