I am really sorry to hear your mum does not believe you. That is an extremely tough place to be in. I would highly recommend you try to contact a counsellor, perhaps one that specialises in intimate partner violence, sexual assault and/or youth (depending what you have been through) to work through what happened. Unfortunately there are people out there that will not believe you so it is important to seek support from people who will believe and support you.
Here are some services that can help:
- Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 https://kidshelpline.com.au/
- National Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Counselling Service: https://www.1800respect.org.au/
- DV Connect- 24hr domestic violence hotline: https://www.dvconnect.org/ 1800 811 811
- Sexual Assault Helpline: 1800 010 120
- Cairns Sexual Assault Service: https://www.true.org.au/counselling
All the best.
~ Christie
There are lots of different rights and responsibilities in relationships. We teach about 9 main ones in our program, Junior Respect me. All of these however, centre around respect, equality and safety, which are the most important ingredients for a healthy relationship.
Rights and responsibilities go hand in hand with each right having a corresponding responsibility, for example:
- I have the right to say no to things I don’t want to do matches I have the responsibility to accept my friend's decision and not keep asking.
- I have the right to express my opinion matches the responsibility to respect my friend's opinions.
- I have the right to respectfully disagree with my friend, and I have the responsibility to understand that my friends might respectfully disagree with me.
- I have the right to be treated as an equal, I have the responsibility to treat my friend as an equal.
- It is important to know your rights and responsibilities within a relationship and be able to communicate openly and freely with your partner. You may not always agree on everything, but you should always feel safe and respected.
~ Christie
The legal age to consent to have sex in Queensland is 16. When we say sex, we mean sexual intercourse which is when a penis, finger, object or any part of a person is fully or partially inside another person’s vagina or anus. This is called penetration. This legal age applies to all people, including people in same-sex and heterosexual relationships. At 16 years old, people reach the age of consent, which means in the eyes of the law they are viewed to have general sexual competence to enforce personal boundaries and negotiate the risks involved in sexual activities.
~ Christie
Some people become interested in having a boyfriend or girlfriend at an early age, others are not interested until they are well into being an adult. There is no magical age that tells you when you can and cannot start dating.
However, parents and carers’ rules about relationships play a part here too. If your parents have told you that you must be a certain age to date and you keep a relationship secret from them, it will be difficult for them to help if you need support and advice. Relationships can be tricky, and you may need the support from your family at some stage.
In any case, regardless of age, it is important that if you do decide that you want to start dating someone, that you ask for their consent and communicate this with them. You both must also be mature enough to follow basic relationship rights and responsibilities, such as respecting one another as an equal, giving yourself and them space to spend time with other friends and family, and ensuring you both are free to express yourselves respectfully without any pressure or threats.
If you feel you and the person you are interested in understand how to be a respectful partner and will not pressure each other to do anything that you are not ready for, that is more important than any particular age.
~ Bonnie
