Chanel Contos
{{short description|Australian student and sexual consent activist}}
{{use Australian English|date=October 2023}}
{{use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
Chanel Contos is an Australian student and sexual consent activist. Contos became known globally in 2021, following an outpouring of responses to her request for young Australian women to report on their sexual assault experiences. She is the founder of Teach Us Consent and chair of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership's Youth Advisory Committee.{{Cite web |date=1 November 2023 |title=Porn leading to rising sexual violence and grooming in Australia, consent activist says |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/porn-leading-to-rising-sexual-violence-and-grooming-in-australia-consent-activist-says/2ln2l917j |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101145802/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/porn-leading-to-rising-sexual-violence-and-grooming-in-australia-consent-activist-says/2ln2l917j |archive-date=1 November 2023 |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=SBS News |language=en}}
Early life and education
Contos grew up first in the outer Sydney suburb of Glenorie, New South Wales, then moved to Vaucluse, an affluent suburb in Sydney. She attended Kambala School in Sydney,{{cite web |title=Here's Why Chanel Contos Is Making Headlines |url=https://www.girlfriend.com.au/chanel-contos |website=Girlfriend |language=en-us |access-date=16 October 2021 |archive-date=18 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318194114/https://www.girlfriend.com.au/chanel-contos |url-status=live }}{{Cite web| last=Thompson|first=Courtney|date=29 June 2021|title=She started a reckoning, but Chanel Contos isn't finished yet |url=https://www.marieclaire.com.au/chanel-contos-on-starting-a-reckoning|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-16|website=Marie Claire|language=en|archive-date=29 June 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210629070427/https://www.marieclaire.com.au/chanel-contos-on-starting-a-reckoning}} before studying at the University of New South Wales for a bachelor's degree in commerce and arts. In 2020, she began a master's degree in gender and education at University College London.
Activism
In February 2021, Contos began an Instagram poll asking for stories from young Australian women who had been sexually assaulted.{{cite web |last1=Chrysanthos |first1=Natassia |title=It started on Instagram. Now Chanel's petition is leading a sex education revolution |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/it-started-on-instagram-now-chanel-s-petition-is-leading-a-sex-education-revolution-20210305-p5780k.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |date=5 March 2021 |access-date=16 October 2021 |archive-date=12 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912162822/https://www.smh.com.au/national/it-started-on-instagram-now-chanel-s-petition-is-leading-a-sex-education-revolution-20210305-p5780k.html |url-status=live }} After an outpouring of responses, she started the website Teach Us Consent, which hosted a separate online petition to ask for sexual consent education in Australian schools.{{cite web |title=Sex education: Could a program in Mexico City provides a blueprint for Australia? |url=https://lens.monash.edu/@education/2021/03/12/1382932/young-people-are-hungry-for-good-sex-education-i-found-a-program-in-mexico-that-gets-it-right |website=Monash Lens |date=12 March 2021 |access-date=16 October 2021 |archive-date=16 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016222929/https://lens.monash.edu/@education/2021/03/12/1382932/young-people-are-hungry-for-good-sex-education-i-found-a-program-in-mexico-that-gets-it-right |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Chrysanthos |first1=Natassia |title=Hundreds of Sydney students claim they were sexually assaulted |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/hundreds-of-sydney-students-claim-they-were-sexually-assaulted-and-call-for-better-consent-education-20210219-p57449.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |date=19 February 2021 |access-date=16 October 2021 |archive-date=24 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824225014/https://www.smh.com.au/national/hundreds-of-sydney-students-claim-they-were-sexually-assaulted-and-call-for-better-consent-education-20210219-p57449.html |url-status=live }} The petition generated a strong response, with over 44,000 signatures within a month of its launch, along with over 5,000 stories of sexual assault.{{cite web |last1=Kwai |first1=Isabella |title=Push to Improve Sex Ed in Australia Comes From 10,000 Miles Away |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/world/australia/sex-education-consent-contos.html |website=The New York Times |date=15 October 2021 |access-date=16 October 2021 |archive-date=16 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016070231/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/world/australia/sex-education-consent-contos.html |url-status=live }}
In March 2021, the sex crimes unit of the New South Wales Police Force collaborated with Contos to ask young women who had filed stories of assault on Contos' site to also make informal reports to the NSW police department.{{cite web |last1=Chrysanthos |first1=Natassia |title='We will listen': Police and consent activist launch operation to urge victims to come forward |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/we-will-listen-police-and-consent-activist-launch-operation-to-urge-victims-to-come-forward-20210323-p57d98.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |date=23 March 2021 |access-date=16 October 2021 |archive-date=11 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611202257/https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/we-will-listen-police-and-consent-activist-launch-operation-to-urge-victims-to-come-forward-20210323-p57d98.html |url-status=live }} In April 2021, Contos proposed that an anonymous online tip site be set up to enable young victims of sexual assault to report assaults to the Australian police.{{cite web |last1=Sakkal |first1=Paul |title='Not about sending teenagers to jail': Chanel Contos pushes for new sex crimes reporting |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/not-about-sending-teenagers-to-jail-chanel-contos-pushes-for-new-sex-crimes-reporting-20210401-p57fwf.html |website=The Age |language=en |date=3 April 2021 |access-date=16 October 2021 |archive-date=29 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429112018/https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/not-about-sending-teenagers-to-jail-chanel-contos-pushes-for-new-sex-crimes-reporting-20210401-p57fwf.html |url-status=live }} In May 2021, the then Australian prime minister Scott Morrison pledged to meet with Contos to discuss sexual consent education.{{cite web |title=Chanel Contos to meet Scott Morrison to discuss sex consent education reforms |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/may/21/chanel-contos-to-meet-scott-morrison-to-discuss-sex-consent-education-reforms |website=the Guardian |language=en |date=20 May 2021 |access-date=16 October 2021 |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909002956/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/may/21/chanel-contos-to-meet-scott-morrison-to-discuss-sex-consent-education-reforms |url-status=live }}
Her book, Consent Laid Bare, was published by Macmillan Australia in September 2023.{{Cite web |last=Boecker |first=Brianna |date=2023-09-15 |title='Consent Laid Bare': Chanel Contos' new book tackles outdated sexual norms |url=https://womensagenda.com.au/life/books/consent-laid-bare-chanel-contos-new-book-tackles-outdated-sexual-norms/ |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=Women's Agenda |language=en-AU}}
Recognition
In the 2021 Australian Human Rights Awards, Contos won the Young People's Human Rights Medal.{{cite web | title=2021 Human Rights Award winners announced | website=Australian Human Rights Commission | url=https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/2021-human-rights-award-winners-announced | access-date=18 September 2022}} She was honoured as one of BBC's 100 Women in 2022.{{Cite web |title=BBC 100 Women 2022: Who is on the list this year? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-75af095e-21f7-41b0-9c5f-a96a5e0615c1 |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.teachusconsent.com Teach Us Consent website]
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Category:Australian women activists
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)