The Harmony Campaign

The Harmony Campaign is aimed at getting consistent laws around the country that pertain to sexual assault. Currently there are eight definitions for sexual intercourse, the age of consent to sex, consent, and grooming between the eight state and territory jurisdictions, as well as eight different sets of punishments for these inconsistently worded offences.

In some jurisdictions, grooming isn’t defined by law. It is our belief that if the nation achieves consistent sexual assault legislation, we will be better equipped to prevent and respond to this complex issue; to protect survivors and deter perpetrators.

We are well aware that harmonisation between the states and territories is a monumental undertaking. As such, we have clearly outlined three specific asks as a starting point:

1. That the offence of ‘persistent sexual abuse of a child’ be worded as such. QLD, SA, the ACT and the NT still use ‘maintaining’ or ‘engaging’ in a ‘sexual relationship’. A child can’t consent. Softened wording doesn’t reflect the gravity of the crime, it feeds into victim-blaming attitudes, eases the conscience of perpetrators and gives license to characterise abuse as romance.

2. That a singular age of consent, its relevant provisions and punishments be agreed upon and adopted by all states and territories. The glaring discrepancies between these trivialise and confuse the issue, and are often exploited by perpetrators.

3. That a singular definition of the physical act of sexual intercourse be agreed upon by all states and territories. This definition is mostly consistent across the jurisdictions but there are outliers which warrant a collaborative approach.

Our broader long-term goal of harmonised legislation is strongly supported by many experts in the sector. The development and implementation of uniform grooming legislation in particular will be a dominant theme of our work moving forward.