Recording sexual consent with mobile phone app may be the future, senior Australian policeman says

‘Consent can’t be implied,’ New South Wales state police commissioner Mick Muller wrote. ‘Consent must be active and ongoing’

More than 100,000 women protested in rallies across Australia on Monday demanding justice, calling out misogyny and dangerous workplace cultures

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A consent app similar to Fuller’s proposal was launched in Denmark last month. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Published: 12:48pm, 18 Mar 2021Updated: 2:55pm, 18 Mar 2021

A senior Australian policeman suggested on Thursday a phone app be developed to document sexual consent in a bid to improve conviction rates in sex crime cases.

New South Wales state police commissioner Mick Muller said dating apps have brought couples together and the same technology could also provide clarity on the question of consent.

“Technology doesn’t fix everything, but … it plays such a big role in people meeting at the moment. I’m just suggesting: is it part of the solution?” Fuller said.

Fuller said the number of sexual assaults reported in Australia’s most populous state was increasing while a prosecution success rate of only 2 per cent stemming from those reports showed the system was failing.

“Consent can’t be implied,” Fuller wrote in News Corporation newspapers. “Consent must be active and ongoing throughout a sexual encounter.”

Responses to the consent app suggestion have been largely negative or sceptical.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian congratulated Fuller on “taking a leadership position on having the conversation” about the sexual assault problem, but declined to share her opinion on the app.