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Consent: “An agreement to sexual activity, given by someone who is free to choose and able to choose (because of being old enough, being able to think and communicate clearly” And “you can withdraw consent at any time if you feel uncomfortable.” (Cambridge Dictionary)
That’s how Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘consent’.
My body is my own. How many women and girls can freely make that claim? How many women have the power to say yes and the right to say no? Sadly, only 55% of all women in the world today have bodily autonomy, according to United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) 2021 State of the World Population Report. And this is where the importance of consent comes to the fore.
To spread the word and awareness about consent, Tinder, the world’s most popular app for meeting new people, has launched Let’s Talk Consent, a first-of-its-kind online self learning course focused on interpersonal consent. Created by Yuvaa, a leading youth media organisation in India, and available on Coursera, a global online learning platform, this 90-minute multimedia course provides reliable guidance about interpersonal consent to young adults in India for the very first time.
The course available to those above 18 years of age utilises surveys, assignments, and real-life examples to offer a nuanced understanding of consent in everyday situations. The Let’s Talk Consent course is now available for enrolment on the Coursera website, and interested individuals can sign up to access the course at no cost.
The five modules within the course cover:
• Understanding consent in interpersonal relationships
• Setting and enforcing personal boundaries
• Recognising signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships via red, green and grey flags
• Navigating online and offline interactions with safety and respect
The Let’s Talk Consent course builds on Tinder’s 2021 Let’s Talk Consent initiative that helped address the complexities of consent in relationships amongst young Indian adults. In partnership with Yuvaa and Pink Legal, Tinder built an interactive resource centre, www.letstalkconsent.com, containing information on the meaning of consent, navigating consent across stages of a relationship, how to ask and give consent as well as the nuance of withdrawing consent.
Over the last three years, Tinder has also launched short films like ‘Closure’ and ‘We Need To Talk,’ to encourage the discourse on consent. The campaign digitally has had over 8 million+ views across all its films, editorial and influencer content. Following its success, Yuvaa conducted in-person Consent and Safe Dating Curriculum workshops, engaging over 1,000 students across three cities and nine colleges.
Continuing with its emphasis on consent, last year Tinder partnered with the Centre for Social Research (CSR) to launch the Dating Safety Guide in India, aimed at educating users on Community Guidelines, in-app safety features, and crucial topics like diversity, sexual health, and consent.
The online course on interpersonal consent acquires greater importance in India because consent is not an oft-taught/discussed topic. According to a 2022 survey of 1,018 18-30 young adults across Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad conducted by YouGov,
• 65% of young adults took steps to personally understand the concept of consent.
• 6 in 10 young adults were seeking more resources and safe spaces (both physical and online) on consent.
• 67% of young adults advocated for the integration of comprehensive consent education in schools and colleges.
Currently, in India, the legal age of consent for girls is 18 years. This age of consent in India has varied widely over a period of time, from 10 years in 1860 to 12 years in 1891. Thereafter, the age of consent was raised to 14 years in 1925 and to 16 years in 1940 that stood valid for females till 2012. The age of consent for males is 18 years. However, prior to the POCSO Act in 2012, there was no age of consent defined separately for males and it was fixed by virtue of Section 375 of the IPC, which defines ‘rape’.
‘“Consent has always been at Tinder’s core, starting with mutual matching, which requires both users to express interest before chatting, as well as our suite of trust and safety features. We reinforce these efforts through local educational initiatives such as ‘Let’s Talk Consent’. Collaborations with organisations like Yuvaa allow us to provide reliable information and guidance, empowering Tinder users to navigate dating with confidence and respect,” Aahana Dhar, Director of Communications in India, Tinder, said.
“At Yuvaa, we meet tens of thousands of young people across India every year and dating and intimacy are among the topics they find hardest to speak about and navigate. Boundaries and consent are so personal but also so important – and with our collaborative effort on the Safe Dating Curriculum launched last year with Tinder, we’ve tried to take the conversation around consent directly to Gen Z in a way that they understand and resonate with. Now, this new online course provides practical strategies for both online and real-life interactions, emphasising safety, open communication, and mutual respect for personal boundaries,” Kevin Lee, CEO, Yuvaa, said.
Launched in 2012, Tinder is available in 190 countries and 45+ languages. It has been downloaded more than 530 million times and more than half of all users are 18-25 years old.
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