A junior doctor at Toowoomba Hospital is changing the conversation about consent and rape culture in Australia, one student at a time.
Curtis Rayment, 26, originally from a cattle farm west of Winton in Queensland’s Central West region, was playing rugby and studying a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery at James Cook University in Townsville when a close female friend of his was raped by someone in his social circle.
“It made me very angry and frustrated. It was probably the first thing that made me realise that the actions that I was doing, or friends of mine were doing, certainly in my peer groups contributed to what happened to her,” Curtis tells 7Life.
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This was the catalyst that prompted Curtis to found the program It’s A Man’s Issue in 2021.
He was recently named a 2024 Queensland Young Australian of The Year nominee for his efforts.
“I couldn’t take what happened to my friend away, but I felt like I had an ability to tell a story and to talk to young men and women about the experience and my change in that process.”
![Curtis Rayment is changing the conversation around consent, one student at a time](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15393593/d00bd1ae4b9c326f1c3112d1db89649c0e72351e-16x9-x0y0w2000h1125.png?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![Curtis Rayment is changing the conversation around consent, one student at a time](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15393593/d00bd1ae4b9c326f1c3112d1db89649c0e72351e-16x9-x0y0w2000h1125.png?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
It’s A Man’s Issue is an initiative that that aims to “educate on consent, eradicate rape culture and tackle toxic masculinity”.
Curtis runs trauma informed, evidence based, and culturally sensitive workshops in universities and rugby teams but mainly in high schools around Queensland.
He has so far delivered more than 160 workshops to about 8500 people.
Curtis said before learning of his friend’s sexual assault, he was ignorant of the fact that it was such a common occurrence in Australia.
![Curtis is originally from a cattle farm west of Winton.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15393593/eded589d3b3b93851a809a279e1d5b8ebce80e2b-161x229-x63y0w627h892.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![Curtis is originally from a cattle farm west of Winton.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15393593/eded589d3b3b93851a809a279e1d5b8ebce80e2b-161x229-x63y0w627h892.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![The junior doctor creates all the programs himself with legal resources and expert information.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15393593/0beb6cb1eac7ab38609759ce890280fe87a977c7-161x229-x65y0w949h1350.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![The junior doctor creates all the programs himself with legal resources and expert information.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15393593/0beb6cb1eac7ab38609759ce890280fe87a977c7-161x229-x65y0w949h1350.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
Data from The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows one in five Australian women have experienced sexual assault.
Curtis breaks down the issue of consent to students into four key criteria.
“If you pull the definition apart, it has to be voluntary, and the person has to have their cognitive capacity. That means the person has to be coherent, willing, free and then it has to be an ongoing conversation,” Curtis explains.
“What I focus on during the workshop is that if one of those four pillars or aspects of consent isn’t there, then it is not consent and therefore it is sexual assault.
“Consent is an ongoing process and it’s about helping people to understand what ongoing consent actually looks like.”
![Curtis has delivered more than 160 workshops to thousands of people.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15393593/0234cc134f5e1159851620b9e29843938b66cc01-4x3-x0y80w1080h810.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![Curtis has delivered more than 160 workshops to thousands of people.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15393593/0234cc134f5e1159851620b9e29843938b66cc01-4x3-x0y80w1080h810.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![Curtis (pictured right), also explains that he would love It’s A Man’s Issue to eventually become a non-for-profit organisation where other young people who are passionate can get involved.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15393593/5164fbbb546908f4ea3c0d719d1ef2c43e1b3365-161x229-x65y0w949h1350.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
![Curtis (pictured right), also explains that he would love It’s A Man’s Issue to eventually become a non-for-profit organisation where other young people who are passionate can get involved.](https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-15393593/5164fbbb546908f4ea3c0d719d1ef2c43e1b3365-161x229-x65y0w949h1350.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
Curtis says that this is an area in which he finds students tend to have a poor understanding.
“We talk about the fact that someone can consent to doing, one type of sex, but that doesn’t mean they consent to doing the other one.
“They need to know the legal aspects around it all, which are very important, and also that any sexual acts they are doing, people can say no at any time.”
The way Curtis structures the workshops is that once he runs through the definitions and the laws surrounding consent, he works through specific examples with students, first in small groups and then in larger group discussions.
“And we just have a very genuine, honest and non-judgmental approach to answering their questions and working through the examples,” Curtis says.
As his initiative has gained more traction, Curtis has recently brought in two other young men — a doctor and a lawyer who are passionate about the issue — to help him run the workshops.
Curtis’s ultimate goal is for It’s A Man’s Issue to become obsolete.
“Where you turn up and do a talk at a school and all of the kids just say, ‘this is obvious,’ but right now that’s certainly not what I am seeing,” he says.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.
In an emergency, call 000.Advice and counselling for men concerned about their use of family violence: Men’s Referral Service, 1300 766 491.