ACT Policing matches with Tinder to roll out new ads promoting sexual consent laws

Canberra users of the dating app Tinder will soon start seeing advertisements raising awareness of the ACT’s positive consent laws.

ACT Policing has partnered with Tinder and Canberra Rape Crisis Centre (CRCC) to develop the new in-app ad campaign, which will begin this month.

“There is no doubt online dating platforms such as Tinder are where people are meeting future partners. That’s why we were pleased Tinder was happy to partner with us and CRCC to remind Canberrans using the platform of the affirmative consent rules in the ACT,” Officer in Charge of the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team, Detective Inspector Stephanie Leonard said.

“We also hope that these ads and continuing conversations about consent will see people’s attitudes change.”

The campaign follows changes to the ACT’s laws around consent, which came into place last year.

The Crimes (Consent) Amendment Act 2022 was written to shift the principle that consent is not presumed and outline that there must be an ongoing and mutual conversation between participants. The act also states that people have a right to choose to not participate in sexual activities.

CEO of CRCC Chrystina Stanford said the campaign serves as a reminder to dating app users that they should be mindful that “not everyone has the same intentions when they’re online”.

“We know that as more and more people rely on online dating sites to meet their future partner that, unfortunately, what comes with that is there’s also a risk at times,” she said.

“Our hope is that through partnerships such as this, we’ll be able to help to make the community safer.”

Ms Stanford said CRCC has seen more and more people accessing online dating sites, which can sometimes result in harm.

She said the advertisements are an important part of the effort to reach out to young people in the community in particular.

“Young people have become the largest users of our crisis services at CRCC,” she said.

“We know that young people rely a lot on online mediums to meet each other and to navigate through other parts of their lives, so this is this is an important thing for us to be able to do to better meet the needs of that part of the community.”

“Many of today’s dating interactions start online, and it’s essential that these are safe and consensual, above all,” Tinder Australia spokesperson Kirsty Dunn said.

“We hope that this campaign, along with our own ongoing education, helps further educate daters in the ACT on how to foster healthy relationships.”

Detective Inspector Leonard said ACT Policing is “looking to expand” the campaign and would be open to working with other dating platforms in future to introduce similar advertisements.

“We would welcome any opportunity to partner with any other online platforms,” she said.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, you can report it to police by attending a police station or calling 131444. Further information on sexual offences can be found on the ACT Policing website.  

You can also submit an online report for historical sexual assault for incidents that occurred more than six months ago. Tinder also encourages users to confidentially report bad behaviour or anything that goes against its Community Guidelines. Users can report someone directly from a profile or reach out through the in-app Safety Centre at any time.

Canberra Rape Crisis Centre (CRCC) can be contacted via their Crisis Phone Line on 6247 2525 or Crisis Text Line Only on 0488 586 518.