New sexual consent laws - that stipulate an affirmative model of consent - come into force in Queensland today. The changes more clearly outline situations where consent for sexual activity can't be given, such as circumstances of coercion or intimidation. CEO of Women's Legal Service Queensland, Nadia Bromley, says this will not only change what will happen in courtrooms but in communities as well.
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00:00These changes are the result of advocacy that's been going on for decades, but probably the
00:06most important change is the change to the model of consent, and it's designed to reflect
00:10community standards.
00:11At the moment, consent in Queensland now reflects that it's an ongoing conversation that is
00:15freely and voluntarily agreed.
00:18The stealthing is now a criminal offence in Queensland, and that's where someone removes
00:21without consent a condom or interferes with it in some way to make it ineffective, because
00:25we know that that happens in all too many cases, and it's not recognised for what it
00:29is, because if there's not consent to a sexual activity, we call that rape, and the law in
00:34Queensland now reflects that.
00:35This has been a long time coming and the result of over 20 years of advocacy, so it brings
00:38us into line with all the other states, except for Western Australia and South Australia,
00:42but they're on their own journey, so certainly a good day to be in Queensland.
00:45Perhaps the most important part of it is about community education, because we know that
00:48one in five Australian women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15, so we
00:52know that this is one of the most under-reported offences in Australia, and certainly in Queensland.
00:57So as much as it will change what happens in courtrooms, we hope it will also change
01:00what happens in communities, that people will understand their rights and understand what
01:04behaviour is expected of them.
01:05Our hope is that they will start to dispel some of those rape myths about how people
01:09who are either drunk or don't actively resist can't be victims of rape.
01:12They most certainly can.
01:14Consent needs to be freely and voluntarily agreed, so a conversation or an action needs
01:18to establish consent, so we hope it will change people's attitudes every day as they
01:22go about building relationships and acting respectfully in our communities.
01:25Look, there's always more to do, and we know that even in Tasmania where the laws came
01:28into effect 20 years ago, they're still working on changes, so we expect to see bipartisan
01:33support as we grow and mature these laws, and we expect continuing support to see the
01:37changes we need to keep people safe.