She’s an Australian law professor. Her husband says they ‘don’t do consent’

September 29, 2026 — 7:00pm

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In a recent episode of The Dr Jo Show, Australian furniture designer James Howe said that within his marriage to Dr Joanna Howe, the podcast’s host, “consent isn’t even a frickin’ thing”.

“Like for me, like, I just … I don’t do consent. We don’t do consent,” the father of five said.

James’ comments came during a broader discussion about sexual consent education and the government’s digital duty-of-care bill, which the Howes believe amounts to “school-based indoctrination” and “brainwashing”.

Joanna appeared to agree with her husband of 17 years’ comments, and as a successful influencer among Australia’s far-right, she immediately understood the impact of James’ words.

“They’re going to clip that up online, and you’re going to sound really bad,” she said laughing.

Government, parents, teachers: ‘It is everyone’s responsibility to be part of combating this culture’

James replied: “I don’t give a f---. Like, I do marriage, man. Like, I don’t, I don’t do consent,” James replied.

But as it turns out, both James and Joanna Howe definitely do give a f---. Not only about an education model that aims to reduce Australia’s appalling national rates of sexual violence, but also about our abortion laws.

Over the past 18 months, Dr Joanna Howe, a law professor at Adelaide University and a Rhodes scholar, has become one of Australia’s most........

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