00:00These changes are the result of advocacy that's been going on for decades, but probably the
00:06most important change is the change to the model of consent, and it's designed to reflect
00:10community standards.
00:11At the moment, consent in Queensland now reflects that it's an ongoing conversation that is
00:15freely and voluntarily agreed.
00:18The stealthing is now a criminal offence in Queensland, and that's where someone removes
00:21without consent a condom or interferes with it in some way to make it ineffective, because
00:25we know that that happens in all too many cases, and it's not recognised for what it
00:29is, because if there's not consent to a sexual activity, we call that rape, and the law in
00:34Queensland now reflects that.
00:35This has been a long time coming and the result of over 20 years of advocacy, so it brings
00:38us into line with all the other states, except for Western Australia and South Australia,
00:42but they're on their own journey, so certainly a good day to be in Queensland.
00:45Perhaps the most important part of it is about community education, because we know that
00:48one in five Australian women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15, so we
00:52know that this is one of the most under-reported offences in Australia, and certainly in Queensland.
00:57So as much as it will change what happens in courtrooms, we hope it will also change
01:00what happens in communities, that people will understand their rights and understand what
01:04behaviour is expected of them.
01:05Our hope is that they will start to dispel some of those rape myths about how people
01:09who are either drunk or don't actively resist can't be victims of rape.
01:12They most certainly can.
01:14Consent needs to be freely and voluntarily agreed, so a conversation or an action needs
01:18to establish consent, so we hope it will change people's attitudes every day as they
01:22go about building relationships and acting respectfully in our communities.
01:25Look, there's always more to do, and we know that even in Tasmania where the laws came
01:28into effect 20 years ago, they're still working on changes, so we expect to see bipartisan
01:33support as we grow and mature these laws, and we expect continuing support to see the
01:37changes we need to keep people safe.
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