“Asking For It” will premiere on SBS and SBS On Demand next month.
The documentary series aims to reignite a national conversation about the epidemic of sexual violence impacting millions of Australians. It will look at institutions from schools and universities to aged care, and ask how the country can change its rape culture into a consent culture.
The three-part series is a follow-up to investigative journalist Jess Hill’s “See What You Made Me Do”, which put domestic abuse under the microscope.
Hill will meet victim survivors who are spearheading Australia’s consent revolution including Saxon Mullins, Grace Tame, Noelle Martin and Adele (delsi) Moleta, who will shed light on their experiences navigating the legal system, fighting for law reform and dealing with trauma.
She will also interview a range of experts, community groups and consent educators from across Australia and the world.
Hill said she hopes “Asking For It” gets people thinking about their own life experiences, and pumps new energy into the national movement to end rape culture.
“The last sexual revolution liberated us from abstinence culture – thankfully – but it turns out that true sexual freedom is still only for some,” she said. “As #MeToo has shown, ‘sexual freedom’ can be expressed at great cost to those who’ve had sex they didn’t want. The consent revolution is the next evolutionary step towards a truly liberated sexuality where everyone involved can expect to feel pleasure.”
Joseph Maxwell, SBS’ head of scripted, added: “‘See What You Made Me Do’ was one of SBS’ most successful factual programs in 2021 and we’re proud to partner again with Jess Hill and the team at Northern Pictures. The series exemplifies SBS’ role in supporting ground-breaking documentaries that tackle the big issues of our time.”
The series will be directed by Tosca Looby, who said: “There’s nothing simple about consent – but we’ve worked hard to take the audience on a carefully crafted journey through the wilds of this issue that’s so fundamental and so misunderstood. We travel with survivors, all the way through our justice system and out the other side – deeply disturbed by what we find. We meet the best educators in the consent game – the people determined to get it right. And the audience, from teenage boys to the elderly, who want to speak openly and frankly about sex, in the pursuit of healthy, consent-rich relationships.”
The three-part series will debut on Thursday, April 20, and will be subtitled in five languages on SBS On Demand – Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.
In addition, SBS Learn will deliver teaching resources based on selected clips from “Asking For It”, exploring respect, consent and power through age-appropriate materials for school students. The resources were developed in partnership with the eSafety Commissioner and Body Safety Australia.