🚀 Critical Thoughts on the “Consent Can’t Wait” Campaign by the Department of Social Services

One in five women and one in 16 men have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15 in Australia, with women most likely to experience this at the hands of an intimate partner. A $40 million, 12-month campaign by the Department of Social Services named; “Consent can’t wait” was launched last week, with a message that ‘if we don’t know the answers, how will our kids?’ While this campaign is a significant step towards addressing consent confusion and promoting respectful relationships, it’s essential to critically examine what it needs to achieve to be genuinely effective.

The Department of Social Services’ latest campaign encourages influencers of young people to take the first step in educating young Australians on sexual consent by checking their understanding and speaking to others about it. This campaign will be featured on television, online videos, social media, and cinemas and encourages adults to check their understanding of consent before discussing it with each other and young people. This campaign has developed a range of resources that one can access, including a targeted website, interactive tools, misconception cards, and translated conversation guides to help Australians understand and discuss consent more effectively.

The importance of consent for culturally diverse Australians:

Understanding consent helps bridge the gap in understanding and interpreting consent across diverse cultural contexts for multicultural Australians. In multicultural societies, there are varying norms and values around gender, relationships, and communication, which can lead to misunderstandings about consent. Most people remain silent about it and don’t speak up, even when needed, due to cultural and gender norms. So many people do not even know that they have been sexually assaulted or are undergoing it constantly.

While awareness campaigns are a good start, this subject requires much more to reach the root cause; otherwise, they will only touch the tip of the iceberg. The target is to promote respectful and safe relationships and empower people to navigate social interactions confidently, contributing to a more inclusive and equitable society​.

What is missing?

While the campaign touched on some critical educational elements that are needed to help initiate conversations around consent, it still does not address the root causes of gender-based violence. We must also focus on dismantling harmful gender stereotypes and cultural norms of culturally diverse people that are responsible for perpetuating violence and glorifying one gender over another. It is also equally important to fix the portrayal of gender roles in media and tackle toxic masculinity.

To give you some background, I would like to spotlight some pressing issues the CALD community faces around consent.

 Barriers faced by the CALD community around consent:

Barriers around consent for the Indian, Chinese, and Arabic-speaking cohorts and the larger CALD community in Australia often stem from cultural norms, language differences, and varying levels of awareness about consent laws. Here are some specific challenges that are constantly seen in the CALD community:

Cultural norms and gender roles: Traditional views on gender roles and expectations can influence perceptions of consent. In some Indian cultures, for example, discussions about sex and consent are often taboo, leading to limited education and understanding about these concepts between adults as well as between adults and children or young people. (Ref: https://dfvbenchbook.aija.org.au/vulnerable-groups/people-from-culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-backgrounds/)

Family and community pressure: Family honour and societal expectations can pressure individuals to follow certain behaviours, making asserting personal boundaries and consent even more difficult.

Lack of awareness: Many within the CALD community may not be fully aware of Australian laws regarding consent, which may significantly differ from those in their country of birth. Adults and young people also need to be given relevant resources to help them identify if they have been sexually assaulted and what to do next.

Taboos and stigma: Sexuality and discussions around discussions about sex or consent can be highly stigmatised, resulting in limited conversations about consent and sexual rights.

Patriarchal norms: In many Arabic or South Asian speaking cultures, patriarchal norms can dictate gender roles, where male dominance in relationships is often widely accepted, making it challenging for women to assert their consent or even question the opposite partner. (Ref: https://dfvbenchbook.aija.org.au/vulnerable-groups/people-from-culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-backgrounds/)

Policy and legal support: CALD people can only receive complete support with relevant legislative and policy changes. Legislative changes to support consent education and protection against sexual violence are necessary, without which all educational or awareness-based efforts are wasted. Policies should reinforce the campaign’s messages and provide a legal framework that upholds the principles of consent.

Addressing the above barriers will ensure that all individuals, including the CALD community, understand their rights and responsibilities regarding consent. This will ensure the success of the ‘Consent can’t wait’ campaign. Overall, the campaign is undoubtedly a good start in the right direction, a far cry from the 2021 milkshake analogy.

#ConsentCantWait #RespectfulRelationships #SexualViolence #Consent #CALD