Dr Rachael Burgin: Consent Law & Affirmative Consent

Dr. Rachael Burgin is a Lecturer in Law at Swinburne University in Australia. Her work focuses on consent law and affirmative consent. In this conversation, we discussed her work on affirmative consent in Victoria, what affirmative consent means, how it is embedded in law, the limitations of law and room for reform. Rachael also spoke about the importance of being mindful of affirmative consent for individuals during sexual encounters and how they can do that. Research Discussed: Rachael Burgin, Persistent Narratives of Force and Resistance: Affirmative Consent as Law Reform, The British Journal of Criminology, Volume 59, Issue 2, March 2019, Pages 296–314, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azy043 Burgin, R., & Flynn, A. (2019). Women’s behavior as implied consent: Male “reasonableness” in Australian rape law. Criminology & Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895819880953