The question a woman says parents should ask their babies before nappy changing.

A sexuality expert has been forced to publicly defend comments she made in an interview with the ABC this week, encouraging parents to ask their children for consent before changing their nappies.

Deanne Carson, a sexuality educator, speaker, and author, was being interviewed on the ABC after Four Corners‘ interview with Saxon Mullins, the woman at the centre of the Luke Lazurus case.

While on the program, Carson said in her work, she teaches parents how to foster a “culture of consent” in the home from “birth”.

To do so, Carson suggested parents ask their babies questions like ‘I’m going to change your nappy now, is that okay?”

While Carson acknowledged a baby isn’t going to verbally respond, they are still learning, from a very young age, the agency they have in any given scenario.

“Of course a baby is not going to respond ‘yes mum, that is awesome, I’d love to have my nappy changed’,” she said.

“But if you leave a space and wait for body language and wait to make eye contact then you are letting that child know that their response matters.”

Watch the comments made on the ABC here. Post continues after video. 

Soon after, Carson’s interview was the subject of discussion Sky News Australia’s Outsiders show, with Spectator editor Rowan Dean deeming the comments as “leftie lunacy”.

The subsequent criticism that saturated social media in the wake of her interview forced Carson to defend, and give greater context, around her comments.

“I gave an interview the other day about teaching consent to young children. It was in response to the Four Corners episode featuring the incredibly courageous Saxon Mullins,” she wrote on Facebook.

“Sadly, some people have chosen to ridicule me (oh no! Pink hair! Must be a lesbian!) and the notion of giving infants bodily autonomy (poo in nappies har har amiright?!) .

“For those people I’m posting this.

“One in three girls, one in seven boys will be sexually assaulted by the time they are eighteen years old. One in twelve girls will be sexually abused before their sixth birthday.

“The work we do with children, teachers and parents is international best practice in abuse prevention. It teaches children their rights AND their responsibilities and connects them with people who care and can help. It invites their parents into the discussion and is sensitive to cultural and family values.”

Carson went on to say those who “troll” her must remember they are “negating the voices of these brave survivors of sexual abuse”.