‘Collateral Damage’: Consent, Subjectivity and Australia’s #MeToo Moment

Abstract

Abstract Australia’s #MeToo moment has witnessed the publication of women’s experiences of sexual violence without their knowledge, involvement or consent. Focusing on Eryn Jean Norvill, Catherine Marriott and Ashleigh Raper, this article explores relationships between consent and subjectivity within the unauthorised public disclosure of women’s experiences of sexual violence that target high-profile alleged male perpetrators. These cases reveal that the absent presence of consent signifies a denial or repudiation of subjectivity, and responses by the women at their centre highlight discursive relationships between narrative, consent and subjectivity. The article explores the failure of recent and proposed law reform to protect women from such harms, and the conceptual efficacy of consent in enabling women’s subjectivity in #MeToo storytelling.