SPOTLIGHT ON CONSENT TIME ΤΟ LISTEN

MEET ONE OF THE SURVIVORS SPEARHEADING AUSTRALIA'S RAPE LAWS REVOLUTION

- Sara Tapia

Every day in Australia, an average of 85 sexual assaults are reported. But this is just a fraction of the assaults which actually occur. From school playgrounds, to dating apps, all the way to our aged care facilities, sexual harassment and assault is rife and it’s the only crime category that continues to increase year on year.

And yet, one in five Australians think that women who say they were sexually assaulted are making it up or exaggerating. It’s clear from all this that Australia has an issue with consent, but exactly what is being done to tackle it?

For Saxon Mullins, the topic of consent is personal. In 2018, the then-23-year-old waived her right to anonymity and spoke to ABC’s Four Corners following the acquittal of her accused rapist. He was initially found guilty by a jury of sexual intercourse without consent in 2015, but that was overturned on appeal and a judge-only trial then found him not guilty on the basis of a mistaken belief in consent. That ruling was later overturned due to a legal error in the judge’s reasoning, but the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal did not order a third trial, suggesting it would be “oppressive” for the accused.