You Must Ask Before Going Down Under

An Australian state has approved legislation demanding sexual partners must ask permission before “putting a shrimp on the barbie,” and receive a clear, verbal “yes” in response.

The new law states, in effect, that if you want to have sex you must ask for it clearly, and then hear a verbal “yes” back, under new reforms announced by the New South Wales (NSW) government in Australia.

The state, which is on the east coast of Australia, has placed sexual consent at the core of a strategy to battle sexual assault after a high-profile rape case seemed to show that the existing laws did not protect victims.

Under the package, which also seeks to protect against sexual harassment in the workplace, a $1 million advertising campaign will teach people how to “obtain a clear yes.” The campaign will target young adults in bars and clubs and via social media, with messages like “no means no” and “silence is not a yes.”

I cannot adequately describe how lucky I am to have grown up in the 80’s.

Look, I get the spirit behind the legislation, but in the end, it comes down to a he said/she said argument. Afterward, the woman can simply tell police she said no, and bam, the man is immediately jammed up. Unless Australia is demanding written consent or verbal videotaped consent, how can either party prove the sex was consensual?