The public awareness campaign around affirmative consent will appear as videos on streaming services, dating apps and social media, as well as posters and coasters in licensed venues. Photo: ACT Government.
Affirmative consent has been law in the ACT since 2022 but a recent study’s found Canberrans are oversimplifying the idea.
It showed people understood the law meant consent had to be given freely and voluntarily – communicated through words or actions – but that this was often filtered down to the phrase, “No means no”.
Canberra Rape Crisis Centre CEO Tiffany Karlsson said this overlooked more complex trauma responses that signal non-consent.
“People have a number of different responses to stress – fight, flight, freeze or fawn,” she said.
“What is required is enthusiastic consent … not having consent can sound like ‘no’, ‘stop’ or ‘I’m not sure’, but it can also be not moving, moving away, looking down or going silent.”
In Canberra alone, one in five women and one in 15 men have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15 years.
One in three girls and one in five boys have experienced childhood sexual abuse.
Ms Karlsson said the centre saw people across all ages, genders, cultures, sexualities and incomes reach out for help.
“Across every suburb in Canberra, the statistics are really horrific,” she said.
“We consider prevention and education as the most powerful tools we have to stop harm before it starts.
“Having an understanding about what consent is and what consent isn’t is really important.”
The ACT Government has launched a public awareness campaign to expand people’s understanding of affirmative consent and encourage people to talk more broadly about consent.
It’s hoped it will empower people with the knowledge and confidence to seek and give clear, enthusiastic and ongoing consent during sexual interactions, and to withdraw that consent at any time.
A key message of the campaign is that checking in with a partner as a situation evolves or changes doesn’t “ruin the moment” but rather enhances it, as it leads to less confusion and a greater feeling of safety.
A government spokesperson pointed to 2023 research of Australians aged 18-35, which found that 31 per cent agreed wearing sexy underwear was consent to sex, 42 per cent agreed inviting someone into their home was consent to sex, and 45 per cent felt kissing someone was consent.
A 2024 ACT Government-commissioned survey of 500 Canberrans showed while almost three-quarters of people were aware the ACT had sexual consent laws, the results weren’t strong enough around how confident people felt giving or receiving consent.
“While there are some positives in those findings, we’d like to see all of those percentages increase,” the spokesperson said.
Seventy-four per cent of respondents knew there were sexual consent laws in the ACT but only 48 per cent had heard of the term ‘affirmative consent’.
About three-quarters of people felt very or extremely confident about giving consent or knowing they had received consent, while only about two-thirds felt very or extremely confident about asking for consent or not giving consent.
ACT law states all parties in all sexual interactions need to ask for and give consent, every time, and that consent cannot be presumed.
It also outlines that people have a right to choose not to participate in sexual activity, including intercourse, oral sex, touching genitals or breasts, and sharing sexual images.
There are five core concepts of consent to sex that must be met. All participating people must give consent that is:
- free and not forced (it is not consent if they are forced, tricked or scared, or feel like they have to say yes)
- clear about what will happen (includes what will happen, how it will happen, if protection or contraception are being used)
- shown in words or actions
- ongoing and shared
- from someone who is able to say yes (a person cannot give consent if they are too young, have drunk too much or taken drugs, are asleep or passed out)
Learn more about ACT consent laws online. If you are experiencing sexual violence and need help now, call triple zero (000).
Other support ACT services include the Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS) on 6280 0900, 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre (CRCC) on 6247 2525 or messaging 0488 586 518 and the Sexual Violence Legal Service on 6257 4377.
