We-Consent users film 20-second clips on their phones stating who they are about to have sex with before recording their face and their partner's. Video after cut....
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The app only works if the cameras detect human faces and both parties are clearly heard saying 'yes', otherwise the recording is stopped and they are encouraged not to have sex.
Developers say their app will end 'misunderstandings' but rape support groups say they are wrongly suggesting rape is about disagreements about consent rather than a decision made by a rapist.
We-Consent users are asked to confirm their names on camera before they are asked: 'Say yes or no'. If the users say 'yes' the app responds with: 'Consent confirmed. Have fun'.
When asked who the app is targeted towards, the US designer, Michael Lissack, explained it is American athletes who have become fraught in numerous recent sexual scandals.
He said: 'Who seems to be mostly involved with scandals? Athletic teams and fraternities.'
Among critics of the app is the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, which slammed it for apparently showing rape is the result of misunderstanding rather than an attack.
A spokesman said: 'This app seems to completely misunderstand sexual consent as an ongoing process rather than a one-off decision.
'It also appears to be based on the myth of sexual miscommunication, that rape is the result of a misunderstanding of consent rather than a decision made by a rapist.'
It came after a string of high profile cases in recent years, including one involving footballer Ched Evans, who was convicted of rape after a jury agreed unanimously his victim was too drunk to consent to sex.
Earlier this year the country’s top prosecutor said men accused of date rape must be quizzed by police over the ‘steps they took’ to establish that a woman agreed to sex.
Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said detectives should question a suspect about ‘what assured him’ the alleged victim had consented.
New guidelines would guarantee a ‘more balanced consideration’ of the accounts of both the suspect and the alleged victim, she said.
Campaigners described the move as a ‘huge step forward’ in ensuring fewer rapists escaped justice.
But critics said the measures threatened to shift the burden of proof by moving towards making rape suspects prove they were innocent.
We-Consent has been met with mixed reactions, with some saying it increases the perception that false allegations of rape are more common than in reality.
Those who expressed lukewarm support include Elouise Beverley, a member of the Royal Holloway, University of London's feminist society.
She told student newspaper The Tab: 'I think it's positive to encourage dialogue about consent and I hope this app helps to do that.
'But the creator's focus on keeping athletes away from sex scandals seems to encourage the idea that false accusations of rape and sexual assault are more common than they are really.
'It seems the creator is more concerned with the reputations of perpetrators than the well-being of survivors of sexual assault.
'However despite those concerns I think checking in to make sure everyone is sober and making informed consent is definitely a step in the right direction.'
It is not clear where the consent clips are stored but the app website states they are held for seven years and can be made available only by a court order.
A CPS report showed that in a 17-month period there were 5,651 prosecutions of rape, and 111,891 for domestic violence, in England and Wales but there were just 35 prosecutions of false allegations of rape.
DailyMail
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