How to start creating the relationships you want
University is not just lectures and workshops, it’s where we go to grow more fully into ourselves as adults and learn how to navigate relationships in the workplace, in our social lives, with people from different cultural backgrounds, and every other aspect of life that involves interacting with humans.
Understanding how to form respectful relationships will help you decide what sort of relationships you want. There are many different situations you will find yourself in that require skills in building respectful relationships, not just romantic and sexual relationships.
Managing respectful relationships is a life skill that you can learn and develop, starting with The Consent and Respectful Relationships module. The module discusses issues of consent, what constitutes sexual assault and sexual harassment, and the available support.
You can access the module in MyUni
Read what our student leaders are saying about the module.
Ember
Ember Corpuz, Ph.D. candidate with the School of Psychology
“What stood out for me in the course was the practical scenarios presented. These scenarios were very effective in demonstrating what respectful relationships look like, even showing how the mere act of listening is a sign of respect. Respectful relationships, whether in friendships or professional relationships, allow you to feel safe. I think for international students who may feel encumbered and apprehensive about speaking out, the module included helpful resources on websites, numbers to call, organisations to reach out to for support, as well as easy-to-understand language on consent and respectful relationships.”
Christopher Balnaves, graduate Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Electrical & Electronic) with Bachelor of Science
Christopher
"When you come to university you are going to have this discussion (about consent), you’re going to have different relationships as you get older and you meet new people who might be from different cultures, and so having these discussions is a great way to help you understand how you fit as an adult and what sort of relationships you want, and even in terms of respectful relationships it might give you some realisations about things that happened when you were younger and family situations because unfortunately not everybody comes from a family that is always respectful, and these discussions can help more than just romantic relationships."