‘Cup of tea’ sex consent video shown to junior navy personnel

BEMUSED navy personnel were made to watch a stick figure cartoon called Tea and Consent in which offering someone tea is a metaphor for obtaining sexual consent.

The opening frame of the video, produced by Blue Seat Studios, that explains the concept of consent.

THE Royal Australian Navy is using stick figure cartoons drinking tea to educate sailors on what does and doesn’t constitute sexual consent.

Bemused navy personnel were made to watch a video called Tea and Consent in which offering someone tea is a metaphor for obtaining sexual consent.

One sailor said while he appreciated the attempted metaphor, “it feels a little childish watching it though, like it is a video for idiots/kids ... like they think we are children.”

The video is being used by The Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Office.

The revelations come after the Daily Telegraph revealed Sydney University had been using similar infantile cartoons as part of a mandatory consent course for first-year students.

But the Navy’s presentation is a separate production originally made by London police.

It is being used by The Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Office, which was established in 2013 to respond to allegations in the Australian defence forces.

According to its own report, there were 30 cases of aggravated sexual assault in 2015-16 — a number that has been steadily increasing.

AUSTRALIAN ARMY BANS MALE RECRUITS TO GET FEMALE NUMBERS UP

ADF STAFF SEX CHANGES COST TAXPAYERS MORE THAN $1 MILLION

The video says it is OK to offer someone a cup of tea but if they change their mind in the time it takes to put the kettle on, you can’t make them drink it.

The sailor told the Daily Telegraph all junior sailors had to go to the consent presentation.

“It is a big joke — even the presenter said ‘it’s OK to laugh, everyone does’. The rest of the day/week is full of tea jokes,” he said.

A Defence Department spokesman said the video was part of a range of training packages that include information­ on sexual consent.

“The Tea Consent video is used in face-to-face presentations ... as a means of generating discussion.

“As such, the video clip is used in a contextualised manner rather than as a stand-alone program.”

The Defence Force hit the headlines in 2013 after a cadet filmed himself having sex with a female cadet and broadcast it on Skype.