The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency has stressed that consent in marriage does not end at the wedding altar, warning that intimacy should be a shared choice and never an obligation.
The agency, in a public advisory shared on their Twitter page on Friday, said respecting a partner\u2019s \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d fosters trust, love, and safety, adding that \u201csilence is no, reluctance is no.
\u201dIt explained that consent must be F.R.I.E.S \u2014 Freely given, Reversible, Informed, Enthusiastic, and Specific.
The \u201creversible\u201d element, it noted, means a person can withdraw consent at any point before or during an intimate act, and the other party must immediately stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement read, \u201cConsent doesn\u2019t stop at the wedding altar.
\u201cIn a healthy marriage, intimacy is a shared choice, not an obligation. Respecting your partner\u2019s \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no\u2019 builds trust, love, and safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018For your information: silence is no, reluctance is no. Consent must be F.R.I.E.S: Freely given, Reversible, Informed, Enthusiastic, and Specific.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it added that if discomfort or refusal is expressed only after the act has ended, the matter may be more complex.
While it may not meet the definition of \u201cwithdrawal during,\u201d it could still constitute sexual misconduct if the initial consent was obtained under pressure, fear, or without full information.
The agency added that, \u201c\u2018Reversible\u2019 in FRIES means a person can withdraw consent at any point befoe or during the act, and the other party must immediately stop.
\u201cIf someone only expresses discomfort or says \u2018no\u2019 after the act has ended, it becomes a more complex situation \u2013 it may not fit the \u2018withdrawal during\u2019 definition, but it can still be a case of sexual misconduct depending on surrounding circumstances (e.g., if the initial consent was given under pressure, fear, or without full information).
\u201cThat\u2019s why the emphasis is on clear, ongoing, enthusiastic consent throughout. The safest approach (and the respectful one) is to check in and ensure your partner is still comfortable from start to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency has stressed that consent in marriage does not end at the wedding altar, warning that intimacy should be a shared choice and never an obligation. The agency, in a public advisory shared on their Twitter page on Friday, said respecting a partner\u2019s \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d fosters trust, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":16063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Lagos-DSVA.jpg?fit=225%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16061"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16064,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16061\/revisions\/16064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}