Kansent.Co

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

A mobile app that gamifies the concept of sexual consent to encourage partners make healthy and consensual choices

Why?

By explicitly asking for sexual consent, a conversation around what sexual activities are or are not permissible may be elicited without misconceptions. This reduces misreading / misinterpreting of non-verbal signs

Problems due to language

• Indian languages do not have a word to denote the concept of ‘sexual consent’ and thus discussion around the concept is traditionally absent
• Without the explicit existence of the concept it becomes difficult to have discussions around the concept of sexual consent or its nuances, and more so in the vernacular

Problems due to culture

• Patriarchal-feudal values where women do not completely have agency
• Difficulty in saying NO due to societal conditioning
• Assumption that a ‘no’ means a soft ‘yes’ and the woman wants to be pursued
• Other misconceptions due to mass media

Problems due to law

• Presumption of consent under the influence of intoxicants (some people prefer to indulge in sexual activities only after consuming alcohol)
• Sex on the false promise of marriage
• The only evidence required to convict a man of rape or sexual assault is a statement by the woman claiming that there was no sexual consent
• Law needs to evolve to engage more than the male-female binary

Who should use this app?

• Young adults experimenting with intimacy but not aware of consent (see study by Tinder among Mumbai youth)
• People meeting via dating apps
• Unmarried partners
• Married couples (Case challenging marital rape clause currently in Supreme Court)
• People wanting to experiment with various kink

Requirement analysis

• Open-ended discussions with users of dating apps DONE
• Multiple focus group discussions using early iterations of the presentation to understand specific experiences (group size 2-5 people) DONE
• Iterate features and content based on feedback TODO

Limitations

Technology is only an enabler. It cannot solve complex human issues such as emotional manipulation or coercion.

Privacy centric

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant
• No meta-data stored on servers to protect identity of users of the service

On Consent

Section 90 in The Indian Penal Code (IPC) 90. Consent known to be given under fear or misconception.—A consent is not such a consent as it intended by any section of this Code, if the consent is given by a person under fear of injury, or under a misconception of fact, and if the person doing the act knows, or has reason to believe, that the consent was given in consequence of such fear or misconception; or Consent of insane person

—if the consent is given by a person who, from unsoundness of mind, or intoxication, is unable to understand the nature and consequence of that to which he gives his consent; or Consent of child.—unless the contrary appears from the context, if the consent is given by a person who is under twelve years of age.

Absence of consent

Section 114A in The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 1[114A. Presumption as to absence of consent in certain prosecutions for rape.—In a prosecution for rape under clause (a) or clause (b) or clause (c) or clause (d) or clause (e) or clause (g) of sub-section (2) of section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, (45 of 1860), where sexual intercourse by the accused is proved and the question is whether it was without the consent of the woman alleged to have been raped and she states in her evidence before the Court that she did not consent, the Court shall presume that she did not consent.]

References

• Young adults don’t know how to give, ask or withdraw consent while dating, Tinder study
• consent-101
• letstalkconsent
• POCSO Act meant to protect children from sexual exploitation, not to criminalise consensual romantic relationships: Delhi HC
• Delhi High Court grants bail to man convicted of rape of woman he met on Tinder
• Section 90 in The Indian Penal Code (IPC)
• Section 114A in The Indian Evidence Act, 1872