Have you ever heard comments like “men don’t cry” or “throw like a girl”? Have you ever seen someone catcalled on the street? Have you ever felt like your high school sex education didn’t leave you feeling empowered, and maybe even a little bit under-equipped?So have we.In 2016, at the age of 19 years old, we decided we wanted to do something to change this. That’s how Consent Labs began.As two young women, we felt so passionately about the need to foster a society where sexual violence was not the norm; where young people of all genders didn’t have to experience violence and even more than that, where young people were empowered to engage in good quality, fulfilling and respectful relationships.We had a clear vision of the future of sex education, and we dove head-first into making thisa reality. We spent hours and hours speaking to other young people to figure out what they wanted to see out of their education, building relationships with experts to better understand what the research demonstrated, and bringing all of that together into one youth-led and evidence-based program.Yes, we were doing this alongside full-time university and then full-time work; no, we didn’t have much of an idea about how to start a business. We were just incredibly clear on our vision.We won’t lie, our first launch in 2019 was rough. We found we were often dismissed merely asa result of being young, and we received rejection after rejection by education institutions who were hesitant to change the status quo.However, we kept advocating despite the pushback, because we knew wholeheartedly that young people were demanding a change and deserving of a change.2021 was a turning point. As a result of sustained national advocacy efforts, awareness of the need for consent education was spread throughout Australia. Angelique took a leap of faith, leaving her career to become the Consent Labs’ first employee and CEO at 24 years old.It’s been 8 years, and neither of us have looked back since.– Angelique Wan, CEO & Co-Founder, and, Dr. Joyce Yu, Executive Director & Co-Founder