Un-Assault-ed Truth
Consent, coercion and the myth of the stranger — what actually counts, from the woman who changed the law
In this episode
This one is honest, and some of it is hard. If today's not the day, that's okay — it will still be here when you are.
Chanel Contos posted one question on Instagram at 22. It came back with more than 7,000 testimonies, changed the national curriculum, and drove consent law reform across the country. The founder of Teach Us Consent sits with Maddie for the conversation every other conversation has been building to: why the danger was never the stranger, what sexual coercion actually is — being pressured, tricked, threatened or blackmailed — and why she didn't learn that word herself until her master's degree. What algorithms feed boys within 23 minutes of signing up. The truth about "blue balls". Stealthing, and why WA is the last state yet to name it in law.
And underneath all of it, one line worth keeping: sexual assault happens when entitlement to another person's body outweighs empathy for them. Consent comes from the Latin for "feeling together". That's the standard. Ask for nothing less.
Chapters
- 0:00It Never Ends — a Reading From Consent Laid Bare
- 2:12Meet Chanel Contos
- 4:46What Algorithms Feed Boys
- 9:03The Mainstreaming Of Radicalisation
- 12:48How A Girl Starts A Movement
- 15:52Sitting With 7,000 Testimonies
- 18:27What's Happening To Girls Right Now
- 21:49The Myth Of The Stranger
- 24:20Entitlement
- 26:40The Boy In The Batman Costume
- 32:16Consent Means Feeling Together
- 36:11The Truth About Blue Balls
- 41:38Know Your Own Body First
- 47:11Stealthing Makes Consent Void
- 52:54Questions From The Panel
- 56:56Rapid Fire, And The Word She Learned Too Late
- 1:00:36Another Scenario Entirely — a Closing Reading
The girls asked
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Transcript
Shout Outs
- What's Maddie wearing? Top and bottoms by Elka Collective, Shoes by Cosy Island
- Podcast theme music created by Lettie Lee.
- Artwork featured in the background of the podcast videos is by the talented Lindsey Erin.
- The Mugs by the fabulous Jess from JS Handmade Ceramics.
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