Consent app ‘trivialises rape’

A new app that asks users to video a partner consenting to sex in order to protect them against rape claims has been accused of trivialising the subject of sexual assault.

The We-Consent app asks users to film 20-second clips of both partners saying “yes”, with both faces on camera. If not, recording will stop and couples will be advised not to have sex.

The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre said the app was “based on the myth of sexual miscommunication, that rape is the result of a misunderstanding of consent rather than a decision made by a rapist”.

The app asks users to say their names on camera before clearly stating “yes” or “no”. The footage is then stored in the cloud and could be accessible to the police if requested by a court order.

Earlier this year, Britain’s director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, said suspects should be questioned on the steps they took to establish consent in new guidelines on sexual assault cases. The app’s developers say their app fits this criteria.

Elouise Beverley, of the University of London’s Feminism Society, said “it seems the creator is more concerned with the reputations of perpetrators than the well-being of survivors of sexual assault”, but that checking informed consent was a move in the right direction.