This was published 3 months ago
‘What if we’ve been drinking?’: New campaign aims to improve what you know about consent
Australians will be asked to check their knowledge of sexual consent in a government campaign rolling out across television, social media and public billboards, based on fresh data that shows half the population is confused about consent and think it has become a minefield for men to navigate.
The $40 million campaign will direct Australians to a new website with question-and-answer cards that debunk common myths, and conversation guides to help adults talk to each other as well as their children about the issue.
New video ads will feature footage of couples with a voice-over that poses questions such as “How do I know if there’s consent? What if we’ve been drinking, and we go back to their place?” before directing people to the online resources.
The success of the year-long campaign will be a test of Labor’s pledge to end gender-based violence in one generation. The federal government has repeatedly pointed to its $3.4 billion investment in a 10-year national plan but is facing fresh pressure to prove its commitment as community outrage builds over a spate of high-profile domestic violence deaths.
The campaign will be judged against how it helps meet the plan’s target of reducing sexual violence. One in five women in Australia report they have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15, as do one in 16 men, with teenagers aged 15 to 19 the most common victims and offenders of sexual assault.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, who will unveil the campaign on Sunday, said the aim of teaching people about consent was not just to reduce harm but provide the next generation with skills to have safe and healthy relationships.
“It’s something many of us aren’t talking about at all because it might feel uncomfortable and awkward,” she said.
Misconception cards on the website aim to debunk common myths, such as: “If someone doesn’t want sex, they will say no” and “If you don’t consent, it’s up to you to speak up”. It emphasises that consent is a free, voluntary and informed agreement between people to participate in a sexual act.
An example of a misconception card from the new campaign website.
The campaign’s message will be closely scrutinised after the Morrison government’s attempt at consent education material was widely condemned – including by state education ministers – for using euphemisms, such as smearing a milkshake in someone’s face to represent sexual assault.
Consent has become a thorny issue for governments, schools and families since 2021, when child sex abuse survivor Grace Tame was Australian of the Year, the Brittany Higgins case dominated headlines, and Chanel Contos’ petition to teach consent in schools unearthed thousands of sexual assault testimonies from former teenagers.
New government-commissioned research that surveyed more than 2000 people revealed 70 per cent of Australian adults believe the way people think and talk about consent has changed in the past few years, and 77 per cent say it is an important issue.
But half say they don’t have confidence in their ability to define the problem and find real-world situations complex to navigate, with views split between men and women.
What the new campaign says consent is:
- Active and communicated – Sexual partners need to actively say or do something to check if their partner wants to take part in a sexual activity.
- Free and voluntary – Consent is only present when all people genuinely, enthusiastically, and without hesitation, want to engage in the sexual activity.
- Clear and informed – Everyone feels genuinely sure, enthusiastic and knows what they’re agreeing to.
- Ongoing and mutual – Consent can be withdrawn at any time (there isn’t a ‘point of no return’).
- Able and capable – Everyone involved in a sexual activity needs to be able to consent, or communicate that they don’t, this means that those who are underage, heavily affected by drugs or alcohol or people who are unconscious, cannot consent.
Source: consent.gov.au
The research also found around 25 per cent of Australian teenage boys look up to social media personalities who perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes and condone violence against women.
It follows a population-level survey from 2021 that showed young Australians, aged 16 to 24, held some problematic views on consent and relationships. For example, 20 per cent believed that women who said they were raped had often led the man on and later had regrets, and 10 per cent agreed that women often say no to sexual activity when they actually mean yes.
The campaign videos seek to pick up on people’s questions and uncertainties, with scripts that say: “How do I bring up consent? Do I have to ask every time? What if we’re dating? Or not that serious? Will it ruin the mood? Is it too late to talk about it?
Stills from the new consent campaign videos.
“How do I know if there’s consent? What if we’ve been drinking, and we go back to their place? Is a kiss consent to more? What if I’m not sure? What if I said yes earlier, can I still change my mind?”
“If we don’t know the answers, how will our kids? Consent can’t wait. Check your understanding at consent.gov.au.”
The focus of the campaign is community-based prevention, which means encouraging the influential adults in young people’s lives – such as parents, caregivers, coaches, teachers and community leaders – to improve their understanding of consent and have conversations with young people.
It is based on evidence that shows providing young people with positive examples of consent in an age-appropriate way during their early and teenage years can help them develop the skills to have respectful relationships and reduce harm.
Government ministers have been encouraging those kinds of conversations, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese himself last month saying: “We have to be prepared to speak out about these issues. We have to be prepared to talk to our friends and people we know. We have to be prepared to call out behaviour that we see when it’s unacceptable.”
But the conversational approach is also being questioned by some experts. Leading criminologist Michael Salter last month told this masthead that the government needed to take a wider view of prevention and tackle substantial problems with alcohol, gambling and children’s access to pornography – a view that is becoming more common among advocates.
“We’re seeing prevention leaders say: this is about conversations that fathers need to have with their sons; men need to step up and speak out,” Salter said. “We’ve been doing that for 10 years, and we’re still here.”