In my novel, The Tin Box Secret, I deal with many issues that face young people as they navigate the road of adolescence.  One of the toughest subjects that I deal with in the book is date rape and it’s the reason I suggest that the book is for ages 14 and above.

When people remember an experience, sometimes one person remembers it differently than another.  One person may remember an encounter as consensual, while another doesn’t see it that way.  It’s really not all that complicated.  There only needs to be clarity on one point.  “No,” doesn’t mean “yes.”  Silence, doesn’t mean “yes.”  Only, “yes” means “yes” and anything less, means “no.”   If someone can’t answer for whatever reason, they can’t say “yes,” so that would be a definite “no.”

As parents we need to teach this to both our girls and our boys.  There are no excuses, no inexperience, no pressures, no assumptions that can make it okay to not be absolutely sure that consent is being given.  Anything less is a punishable crime.

http://www.theresadodaro.com   Author of The Tin Box Trilogy