Georgia Harrison initiates consent awareness campaign

An influencer reported receiving numerous personal accounts from young individuals after her former partner was found guilty of voyeurism and distributing a private sexual video without her permission. Stephen Bear, aged 34, received a 21-month prison sentence in 2023 for uploading footage of himself and Love Island personality Georgia Harrison to OnlyFans. Following his incarceration, Ms Harrison stated her decision to forgo her right to anonymity, aiming to demonstrate “solidarity” with other victims. She has now collaborated with Thames Valley Police (TVP) on a campaign intended to “start conversations” about consent. “Something was done without my consent and it’s something that I have to deal with,” she said. “I got past it… but because of it I have so many young people always flooding my inboxes with their own stories of sexual assault or sexual abuse, or times when things have been done without their consent.” TVP introduced “Consent Conversations” after a study commissioned by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revealed insufficient comprehension regarding what constitutes rape and sexual offences, particularly among those aged 18 to 24. “Statistics show that, for instance, 46% of people recognise that if someone had been drinking or taking drugs, they are still responsible for rape,” said Ms Harrison. “It’s so important that we change young people’s perceptions of that, and the only way to do that is to have a conversation.” She also noted a misunderstanding concerning consent among individuals in a relationship. “They thought that just because you’re in a relationship, you can have sex whenever and you don’t need consent for it,” she said. “That really surprised me.” Furthermore, misconceptions existed about the withdrawal of consent, with only 28% of young people believing a person was not obligated to have sex with someone they met if they had previously expressed willingness. Ms Harrison expressed that this issue was something she was “so passionate” about, hoping her involvement would facilitate easier discussions. “It’s probably a bit weird going to a pub or going into school and saying ‘hey guys, let’s talk about consent’,” she said. “But if someone sees this then they can say ‘did you see what Georgia Harrison did the other day? She was doing a really great campaign on consent’, and then they can start speaking about a few misconceptions of consent.”