Thames Valley Police team up with Love Island star
Georgia Harrison took her ex Stephen Bear to court last year
Last updated 9th Dec 2024
A Love Island star is working alongside Thames Valley Police to help highlight the importance of sexual consent in a relationship.
Georgia Harrison took her former partner, Stephen Bear to court after he uploaded intimate footage of them online without her permission, and in 2023 he was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
Georgia says when she was at school there weren't enough conversations about consent, and things haven't changed.
"I've spoken to a lot of young girls who have previously had a sexual partner, and young women, and I think for many women, when they have had a relationship with someone in the past and then they are raped, or seriously sexually assaulted, they feel like they can't come forward and that's not the case."
In a new video on consent she talks about the difficulty in speaking to the police about the abuse by her former partner, and her pride in coming forward and working with police for a conviction.
You can watch her latest video with Thames Valley Police and other partners here.
“Consent doesn’t just come down to getting a no”
Ms Harrison is now working with Thames Valley Police on a campaign to highlight the importance of consent in a sexual relationship.
It’s as figures from the CPS show 46% of people believe that if someone had been drinking or taking drugs, they are still responsible for rape – meaning that more than half of people surveyed thought that there are different rules.
Ms Harrison said: “Consent doesn’t just come down to getting a no. It’s very important to get a yes and make sure that you’re reading a situation correctly.
“I think for many women, because they’ve had sex with someone in the past – when it does come to a situation where they are raped or taken advantage of – they feel they have less of a right to come forward about that. That is absolutely not the case.
“Just because you’ve had sex with someone once in the past doesn’t mean you have a right at any time.”
Thames Valley Police:
The research from CPS highlighted just 28% of young people aged 18-24, thinking a person did not have to have sex with someone when they met if they had said they previously said they wanted to.
Detective Inspector Laura Corscadden said: “People should be entering into those intimate and private acts with an agreement, feeling comfortable, understanding what they are doing, and wanting to take part.
“What we are finding is that those communications are just not taking place.”
Another misconception from the data was that less than half of young people (42%) recognised that being in a relationship or marriage does not mean consent to sex can be assumed.
Chloe Carter, Sexual Offence Liaison Officer with Thames Valley Police, said: “Just because you’re in a relationship that doesn’t mean that you’ve got consent. It’s about making sure that you’re having those conversations, that consent is given every time, and that you’re not assuming consent.”