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campusreview.com.au
Be a Better Human campaign. Photo: Flinders
Being
a better
human
Flinders students confront rape on campus.
By Loren Smith
A
recent ABC Four Corners episode, ‘I am that girl’, shed
light on the tricky nature of consent. Legally, it’s not
black and white. But Saxon Mullins, who says she was
raped, wants it to be. Since her experience five years ago
in a Kings Cross alleyway, she has become an advocate for
affirmative consent. This is when, before and during sex, “the
verbal and physical cues a person is giving you show that
they are comfortable, consenting and keen to continue”, a new,
student-designed, Flinders University consent booklet provides.
The booklet is part of a larger campaign, Be a Better Human,
aimed not just at preventing sexual assault, but at “self-
improvement for everyone”. This means, for instance, reporting
perceived sexual harassment or assault, even if you’re a
bystander, and treating everyone with respect and empathy.
In response to the 2017 Australian Human Rights Commission
report on sexual assault and harassment on university
campuses, a group of Flinders students from diverse year
levels, and gender and ethnic backgrounds, together with
the Flinders University Student Association (FUSA), collaborated
on the initiative.
Launched recently, it also raises awareness of what to do if
sexual assault has occurre d: in real life or digitally. Campaign
co-organiser, forensic chemistry PhD candidate Eliza Moule,
explained the latter: “For example, unsolicited images and
messages. There’s so much interaction online, and people can
become disconnected from the consequences of their actions.
We wanted to ensure that this was covered, as it can be just as
damaging, and is becoming more prevalent.”
Moule, whose honours thesis was on the detection of ‘date
rape drug’ GHB in urine, said the response to the campaign thus
far has been “overwhelmingly positive” among both students
and staff. Their campus fair was “much busier than expected”, to
the point where consent slogan-plastered items like tote bags
(with all proceeds going to charity) were sold out.
“We had students saying how much they loved it, and how
important they thought it was.”
Students could sip tea and chat with people about the nature
of consent, obtain information from rape crisis organisations like
SHINE SA, and attend screenings of films like The Mask You Live
In, about toxic masculinity.
“We understand that everyone has empathy about these
issues, but maybe the way they carry themselves can be
improved. [Perhaps the campaign] will stop micro-aggressions,
like making uncomfortable jokes, from progressing,” Moule said.
“We hope the message is zero-tolerance for that kind
[of behaviour].”
Anti-rape campaigns on university campuses aren’t new,
but Moule says the Flinders one is different in that it’s entirely
student-led. This, she says, makes it more relevant, and therefore
more resonant for students. In fact, she and her team are so
confident about the efficacy of the campaign that they plan to
share it with student associations in Australia and overseas. ■
AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT 101
The most basic thing to remember is that consent is voluntary,
enthusiastic and continuous.
If someone does something to you that you don’t want,
for example, coercing you into sex when you’ve said – or
were unable to say – no, then that’s non-consensual sex,
and sex without consent is considered indecent assault or
rape under South Australian law.
But what does ‘without consent’ really mean? Being
bullied, tricked or intimidated with words or violence into
having sex or physical contact is coercive control and
that’s non-consensual; so is having sex with someone
who cannot clearly and freely give consent. This category
includes minors (under the age of 17), people who are
intoxicated, passed out or asleep, as well as those with a
mental impairment that may inhibit them from being fully
aware of what they are agreeing to.
Source: Be a Better Human
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