Australian police chief criticised for sex consent app proposal

Mick Fuller
AP
Matt Watts18 March 2021

Australians have criticised a suggestion by the New South Wales police commissioner that an app could be used to register sexual consent.

Mick Fuller said dating apps were bringing couples together and similar technology could be used to provide a digital record of consent.

The senior police officer said the number of sexual assaults reported was increasing and an app could improve poor conviction rates in sex crime cases. 

He added that his suggestion could gain popularity in time.

He said: “To be honest with you, the app idea could be the worst idea I have in 2021, but the reality is in five years, perhaps it won’t be.

“If you think about dating 10 years ago, this concept of single people swiping left and right was a term that we didn’t even know.”

But many people have criticised the proposal as short-sighted and potentially open to abuse.

“The abuser can simply coerce the victim to use the app,” tweeted the head of the state’s domestic violence service Women’s Safety NSW.

“We need consent law reform, we need holistic education, we need to stop men feeling they are entitled to whatever they want... WE DO NOT NEED AN APP!!” tweeted Greens MP Jenny Leong.

Australian communications consultant Erin Riley said those promoting a consent app "fundamentally misunderstand consent".

"I just heard about the consent app — talk about fundamentally misunderstanding consent", she said.

"It’s not a one-time thing. You don’t just sign a piece of paper and say “ok, you can do anything to me now”. Consent can be revoked at any time, and doesn’t apply to every act she said."

She added: "A consent app is entirely about protecting men".

It comes following a wave of protests in Australia over women’s rights.

More than 100,000 women protested in rallies across Australia on Monday demanding justice while calling out misogyny and dangerous workplace cultures.

The public anger erupted after the Australian attorney general denied an allegation that he raped a 16-year-old girl 33 years ago, and a former government staffer alleged that she was raped two years ago by a colleague in a minister's Parliament House office.

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