The Dominion Post quotes New Zealand experts commenting on a new mobile phone app that was designed to check for consent before sex in an effort to reduce rape.
Excerpt (read the full article here):
An “anti-rape” mobile phone app designed to check for consent before sex has been greeted with scepticism by campaigners against sexual violence.
They have warned that Good2Go cannot take the place of a conversation, can be used to pressure people, and may become another tool for predators.
The app has been developed in the United States and targeted at university students. The idea is to use it to confirm and keep a record of sexual consent.
It asks “Are We Good2Go?” and offers three answers: “no thanks”, “yes but we need to talk” and “I’m Good2Go”.
If the answer is “Good2Go”, it then allows you to choose a level of intoxication. It verifies identity through telephone numbers.
The app’s developers say they hope to alleviate the “culture of misunderstanding and fear” at American universities, where campus rape has become a hot-button issue.
Wellington Rape Crisis manager Eleanor Butterworth said it might be a creative way to think about consent but it failed on two counts.