New sexual consent laws come into force: Here’s what you need to know
One Australian state has introduced new laws requiring consent for sexual acts. These laws now define “covert” acts as rape and increase penalties for offenders.
Updated laws came into effect in Queensland on Monday, designed to improve the “experience” of victims of sexual offences when they make the courageous decision to come forward and make a complaint.
One of the reforms is that committing ‘concealment’ is now a criminal offence, which can result in a maximum prison sentence of life, Yeah reported.
‘Stealthing’ is when one sexual partner secretly removes a condom during sex, without the other party’s knowledge or consent.
By recognising stealth as rape, Queensland is in line with most other Australian states and territories, including Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales.
As part of the changes, the official definition of consent has also been revised.
Historically, it was defined as “given freely and voluntarily by a person with the cognitive capacity to give it.”
But now the word ‘given’ has been replaced by ‘agreed’.
Queensland has introduced a new set of sexual consent laws, including recognising ‘creeping’ as rape (see stock photo)
Stealthing is when a sexual partner removes their condom during intercourse but does not tell the person they are having sex with (a condom is pictured)
Queensland Health and Women’s Affairs Minister Shannon Fentiman previously told media the state was committed to holding sex offenders to account.
“We know that non-physical violence is just as dangerous as physical violence,” she said.
‘Coercive control is also the single greatest predictor of intimate partner murder, which is why we have taken strong steps to criminalise coercive control in Queensland.
‘Reforms to consent laws aim to improve the experience of victims of sexual crime when they make the courageous decision to come forward and hold their perpetrators to account.’
Mrs Fentiman also gave her views on the new, creeping reforms.
“It is rape and it should be treated that way under the law,” she said.
The latest Hear Her Voice report from the Taskforce for Women’s Safety and Justice recommended 188 legislative reforms, including a review of consent laws.
The new bill was developed in consultation with many stakeholders, including agencies dealing with sexual violence.
Queensland Minister for Health and Women Shannon Fentiman wants to hold perpetrators to account
The Queensland Government will spend $225 million to implement the recommendations, including a major IT upgrade in 81 courts across the state to help victims give evidence.
Townsville’s 24-hour Sexual Abuse Response Team is being expanded and extended to two additional locations.
The reforms came after Queensland, along with New South Wales, recorded the sharpest increase in the number of sexual assault victims in 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
In Queensland there was a 14 per cent year-on-year increase to 1,011 victims, while in New South Wales the number of victims of sexual abuse rose by 19 per cent to 2,296.
Nationwide, there were no fewer than 35,138 victims.
Women represented 84 percent – or 30,466 – of the victims nationwide.
If you need support, please contact 1800RESPECT.