The Queensland Government will launch two public awareness campaigns focussed on coercive control and sexual consent.
State Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said the campaigns were part of a broader program to better prevent and respond to domestic, family and sexual violence.
Minister D’Ath said the Only 100% is Consent and Patterns of Coercive Control campaigns sought to educate the community about new laws that would criminalise coercive control as a standalone offence, while also strengthening sexual consent laws.
She said the strengthened sexual consent laws would commence on September 23 this year with the coercive control offence coming into effect from May 26, next year.
“The campaigns will run across television, digital streaming services, print, commercial and community radio, search and social media channels.”
Minister D’Ath said, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, an estimated 3.8 million Australian adults reported experiencing physical and/or sexual family and domestic violence since the age of 15, while 3.6 million had experienced emotional abuse at least once by a partner since the age of 15.
She said the Only 100% is Consent campaign was pitched at raising awareness of what the affirmative model of consent looks like in practice, emphasising a free, voluntary, and mutual agreement when participating in sexual activity, particularly for young Queenslanders.
“It highlights how affirmative consent is clear, simple and a fundamental part of healthy and positive sexual experiences, while also showing scenarios that demonstrate how people can create a safe space for their partner/s to say no or withdraw consent.
“Campaign resources demonstrate healthy and positive sexual experiences while educating Queenslanders about offences, such as non-consensual condom removal or tampering, known as ‘stealthing’, which once commenced, will be explicitly recognised in law as rape.”
Minister D’Ath said reform to consent laws in Queensland would support the prevention of sexual violence, clarify misunderstood sexual offences and drive change in the way offences were prosecuted and defended in the justice system.
She said the Patterns of Coercive Control campaign had been created to educate the community on the signs and seriousness of coercive control, the severe impacts it could have and available support options, while also providing information on upcoming changes to the law.
“Coercive control is an ongoing pattern of abusive behaviours – not only physical violence – which hurt, isolate, frighten, or threaten another person with the intent to control or dominate them,” she said.
“The campaign highlights different abusive behaviours, like stalking, and financial, psychological or emotional abuse. It shows how the community can recognise the signs of coercive control and demonstrates how the behaviours can be subtle and escalate over time.”
