tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/respectful-relationships-education-71412/articlesrespectful relationships education – The Conversation2021-04-19T20:15:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1592202021-04-19T20:15:09Z2021-04-19T20:15:09ZNot only are some of the government’s consent videos bizarre and confusing, many reinforce harmful gender stereotypes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395652/original/file-20210419-23-1nznjtp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://thegoodsociety.gov.au/playlists/the-field-model">Moving the Line video screenshot/Good Society</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Education academics, women’s rights campaigners and many in between have criticised some of the material in the government’s new respectful relationships resource for schools.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.news-mail.com.au/news/new-sex-ed-campaign-slammed/4240494/">Particularly controversial</a> in the <a href="https://thegoodsociety.gov.au/">Good Society resource</a> is a <a href="https://www.thegoodsociety.gov.au/playlists/moving-the-line">video of a girl asking a boy to try her milkshake</a>. When he says he’s happy with his own, she smears her milkshake all over his face. </p>
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<p>While well-intentioned, the video is simplistic and likely to be viewed by secondary students as condescending. The video is designed to be a lesson in decision-making when someone crosses the line in relationships that may be abusive.</p>
<p>I reviewed the entire Good Society resource from a gender-justice perspective and found problems beyond those in the milkshake video. These include that gender-based violence isn’t addressed in the materials for the primary school years, and harmful gender norms are perpetuated in some of the materials around consent. The resource also overwhelmingly focuses on heterosexual relationships.</p>
<h2>What is this resource?</h2>
<p>The Good Society resource is part of the Australian government’s <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/schooling/announcements/respect-matters-program-launched">Respect Matters</a> program, which aims “to support respectful relationships education in all Australian schools” and to “change the attitudes of young people towards violence, including domestic, family and sexual violence”. The Respect Matters program itself is part of the government’s <a href="https://plan4womenssafety.dss.gov.au/initiative/respect-matters/">National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children </a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://ministers.dese.gov.au/tudge/teaching-australian-students-respect-matters">resource includes</a> more than 350 videos, podcasts and activities for children in the foundation year of school, up to year 12. </p>
<p>It’s divided into year levels (foundation–year 6, 7-9 and 10-12) with a series of activities for students to explore topics, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>positive relationships, inclusion and exclusion, friendships and identity (foundation-year 6) </p></li>
<li><p>peer influence, social power and gender (years 7-9) </p></li>
<li><p>sexual consent and sexting (years 11-12).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>There are positive aspects to this resource including teacher guides for each topic with clearly stated learning objectives. All content is linked directly to the Australian Curriculum and there are links in the resource to extensive professional learning support for teachers. </p>
<p>The resource draws on some powerful video material that foregrounds the voices of young people to stimulate students’ interest in, and discussion about, each of the topics. Some topics, like sexting, are addressed comprehensively.</p>
<p>But there are several serious issues.</p>
<h2>Nothing on gender-based violence for young children</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://ministers.dese.gov.au/tudge/teaching-australian-students-respect-matters">government launched</a> The Good Society after Chanel Contos’ viral <a href="https://www.teachusconsent.com/">petition for sexual consent to be taught earlier</a> in schools. But the resource does not mention issues of sexual consent until years 11 and 12. </p>
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<p>Children live in a very gender inequitable world and absorb its messages. And the unfortunate reality is young children experience unwanted sexual contact. They need the <a href="https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/Resource/LandingPage?ObjectId=29b6985a-935d-4053-97c9-f776a99b0fb6">language and strategies</a> to challenge these experiences and protect themselves.</p>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.vgls.vic.gov.au/client/en_AU/VGLS-public/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fSD_ILS$002f0$002fSD_ILS:422825/one?qu=Alloway%2C+Nola%2C+1952-&ps=300">strong evidence</a> attesting to the significance of supporting young children in the early childhood and primary years to critically analyse harmful gender identities. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/parents-your-kids-are-watching-you-sex-education-begins-at-home-157502">Parents, your kids are watching you. Sex education begins at home</a>
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<p>And we know young children are capable of understanding gender-based violence. In a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-019-00301-x">recent study</a>, my colleague and I observed a teacher in a year 1 to 2 class eliciting comments from students who defined different forms of gender-based violence including “when someone says girls can’t play soccer” and as “when boys are teased when they cry”. </p>
<p>This teacher was drawing on the teaching materials in the <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/capabilities/personal/Pages/respectfulrel.aspx">Victorian Respectful Relationships Education</a> curriculum. These materials focus on defining gender-based violence and examining its effects through age-appropriate playground and school scenarios. </p>
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<p>But such defining and analysis are absent in The Good Society materials from the first year to year 6. Gender identity features in some of the cartoon stories and there are some gestures to what gender respect might look like. But the materials are quite childish and condescending. </p>
<p>Of concern, some of the the stories reinforce gendered messages. One features a soccer game, where the male character outperforms the girls who “struggle to get the ball”. The girls are angry about the unfairness of the game and force him to pass the ball to them. Without proper critique, this story leaves gender binaries (boys as physically strong and in control and girls as less powerful) intact. </p>
<h2>Young women presented as sexual gatekeepers</h2>
<p>For years 11-12, The Good Society’s materials explore issues of sexual consent under the headings of influences (like social forces and technology) and situations (such as alcohol and drugs, and parties). These are important focus areas and there are some powerful videos in this section that could open up transformative conversations about gender justice. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-as-simple-as-no-means-no-what-young-people-need-to-know-about-consent-155736">Not as simple as 'no means no': what young people need to know about consent</a>
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<p>But several of the videos about sexual consent reinforce the notion of females as sexual gatekeepers and males as sexual initiators. </p>
<p>One year 11-12 resource video called “Kiss” involves two teenagers engaged in a passionate kissing session that, for the young woman, is getting out of hand. She halts the process and is relieved when her male partner agrees to “keep it above the clothes”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395650/original/file-20210419-19-11ivfki.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395650/original/file-20210419-19-11ivfki.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395650/original/file-20210419-19-11ivfki.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395650/original/file-20210419-19-11ivfki.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395650/original/file-20210419-19-11ivfki.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395650/original/file-20210419-19-11ivfki.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395650/original/file-20210419-19-11ivfki.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395650/original/file-20210419-19-11ivfki.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some Good Society resources position young men as sexual enforcers and young women as being responsible for policing their behaviour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://thegoodsociety.gov.au/playlists/consenting-to-sex">Screenshot from Consenting to Sex materials/Good Society</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The teacher guidance associated with this video recognises tensions of ambivalence around sexual consent. But the decision-making centres on the sexual objectification of the woman. For instance, there are questions about whether the young woman should allow the young man to “squeeze her butt” or “squeeze her boobs”. </p>
<p>There is no real critical engagement with the gendered dimensions of sexual consent, such as the hetero-sexist presumptions that position boys with the power to sexualise and dehumanise girls, and girls with the responsibility to police boys’ excessive sexual appetites. </p>
<h2>There’s a good resource available</h2>
<p>Federal Education Minister <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/respectful-relationships-and-consent-should-be-taught-at-playgroup-20210417-p57k0c.html">Alan Tudge has said</a> the resource was developed in consultation with experts, such as the eSafety Commissioner, Foundation for Young Australians, and parent, teacher and community groups. </p>
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<p>I am surprised this consultation did not draw on the Victorian <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/respectfulrelationships.aspx">Respectful Relationships</a> model currently being taken up in more than 1,850 Victorian government, Catholic and independent schools. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-make-it-mandatory-to-teach-respectful-relationships-in-every-australian-school-117659">Let's make it mandatory to teach respectful relationships in every Australian school</a>
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<p>This program’s curriculum resources draw on an extensive evidence base. And it situates teaching and learning within a whole school approach, where gender respect and equality are examined and monitored in relation to staffing, school culture, professional learning, support for staff and students and community connections. </p>
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<p><em>A version of this article was also published at <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/">EduResearch Matters</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159220/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Keddie receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>A gender-justice researcher reviewed the entire newly released government sexuality education resource for teachers. She found several significant problems.Amanda Keddie, Professor, Education, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1582092021-04-01T19:04:16Z2021-04-01T19:04:16ZSexuality education can counter what kids learn from porn, but some teachers fear backlash when tackling ‘risky’ topics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393011/original/file-20210401-23-1ev7uxs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-watching-video-sexy-women-notebook-768653044">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Thousands of women outlined stories of sexual harassment at private school parties in a petition <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/abuse-that-crosses-generations-is-proof-we-need-new-narrative-on-rape-20210328-p57eqg.html">launched by Chanel Contos</a> recently. Contos is calling for better sexuality education at school, which includes more information about consent.</p>
<p>After the March 4 Justice rally demanding better treatment of women in workplaces, schools and society several boys from Melbourne’s private Wesley College <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-17/complaint-over-wesley-college-boys-sexist-comments/100014474">made misogynistic comments</a> on a bus.</p>
<p>Wesley’s principal Nick Evans called the behaviour unacceptable and told the ABC pornography was a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1061963600956321&ref=watch_permalink">source of sex education</a> for many students and “has to be a huge part of the conversation” in tackling violence against women. </p>
<p>Better sexuality education which teaches respect can go some way to counter the lessons young people take from pornography. </p>
<p>But our study on the delivery of sexuality education found some teachers were anxious about parental fear, negative media and political hysteria. Unfortunately, the teachers we spoke to considered teaching sexuality “risky”. </p>
<p>Consequently, schools and teachers in our study were watering down content, excluding some material and shutting down conversations. </p>
<h2>Pornography and sex education</h2>
<p>One of the reasons young people use pornography is to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444818759271">satisfy their curiosity</a> about sex. And much of mainstream pornography models misogynist attitudes and problematic sexual behaviour. </p>
<p>Feminist author <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/apr/16/why-andrea-dworkin-is-the-radical-visionary-feminist-we-need-in-our-terrible-times">Andrea Dworkin</a> made the link between pornography and misogyny in the 1970s. Feminist research continues to demonstrate a connection. </p>
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<p>Most recently, sexuality educator <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/maree-crabbe/we-need-to-talk-to-our-kids-about-porn_a_21444679/">Maree Crabbe</a> wrote that porn</p>
<blockquote>
<p>communicates a whole range of deeply problematic messages – about sex … gender, power, aggression, bodies, pleasure, sexuality, consent and race.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>She wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Porn is an incredibly powerful communicator. It can influence what we like and want without us even realising. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>School sexuality programs</h2>
<p>Between 2016 and 2017, one of the authors conducted in-depth interviews with nine teachers across nine Victorian government schools to find out how students are taught the skills to develop positive, healthy relationships. She observed the delivery of sexuality education and spoke with five principals about it. </p>
<p>Teachers said sex isn’t being discussed at home with parents. Instead, students are deliberately seeking out information about sex from pornography.
This <a href="https://media-cdn.ourwatch.org.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/11/20022415/Pornography-young-people-preventing-violence.pdf">corresponds with the findings </a>of Our Watch that by the age of 13, nearly 50% of boys have viewed pornography.</p>
<p>Teachers expressed concern about students’ reliance on pornography. They talked about students believing what they see to be “the way you should act” or “how you do sex”. This includes questionable negotiations over consent. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-as-simple-as-no-means-no-what-young-people-need-to-know-about-consent-155736">Not as simple as 'no means no': what young people need to know about consent</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>One teacher said: “In pornography you’re seeing something that young people think is consensual.”</p>
<p>Respectful Relationships is a program that constitutes one component of sexuality education in some schools. It has the potential to combat the misogyny of mainstream pornography. </p>
<p>Respectful Relationships is a set of <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/respectfulrelationships.aspx">evidence-based resources</a> promoting the development and maintenance of healthy relationships of all kinds. The resources are for use in and beyond sexuality education classes.</p>
<p>All Victorian government schools are mandated to deliver the Respectful Relationships curriculum as <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Report-Recommendations">recommended by the royal commission</a> into family violence. Although other schools in Australia may use this curriculum resource.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-make-it-mandatory-to-teach-respectful-relationships-in-every-australian-school-117659">Let's make it mandatory to teach respectful relationships in every Australian school</a>
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<p>Specifically, there is a <a href="https://fusecontent.education.vic.gov.au/03bdca34-62ec-4f30-aca0-8262db67c2db/DETBuildingRespectfulRelationshipsUpdated2501v4.3.pdf">unit designed to</a> “address the link between sexualisation, pornography, gender and respectful relationships”. </p>
<p>One teacher said about the program:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Girls can feel empowered by the program […] They may examine their relationship and see if it’s a respectful relationship. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The teachers we spoke with wanted to deliver this curriculum. They were well trained to do so. They knew their students and that the curriculum has the potential to counter what students learn outside the classroom. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393015/original/file-20210401-13-74sou0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Group of young friends laughing about something." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393015/original/file-20210401-13-74sou0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393015/original/file-20210401-13-74sou0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393015/original/file-20210401-13-74sou0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393015/original/file-20210401-13-74sou0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393015/original/file-20210401-13-74sou0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393015/original/file-20210401-13-74sou0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393015/original/file-20210401-13-74sou0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The respectful relationships curriculum can empower girls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/friends-hipster-teenager-buddies-concept-527458141">Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>While one teacher talked explicitly about the way the curriculum empowered girls, another described it as filling a gap in knowledge that prevented students from seeking bad information via alternative resources. </p>
<p>For this teacher, Respectful Relationships supported students to talk to her when they were considering having sex for the first time or when they experienced harmful sexual behaviour. </p>
<h2>So, what’s the problem?</h2>
<p>This curriculum provides tools for students navigating sex and sexuality, and for teachers to counter, even preemptively challenge, problematic ideas.</p>
<p>But with the public controversy over <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/safeschools.aspx?Redirect=2">Safe Schools</a> — a program that aims to help schools foster a safe environment supportive and inclusive of LGBTI students — at the forefront of their minds, teachers and principals detailed the many ways they sought to minimise parental fear and negative media associated with sexuality education. </p>
<p>One teacher said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is a really loaded subject […] it can really frighten people and they can think, ‘Christ, I have a little year 7 or a year 12 girl at that school’. </p>
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<p>Teachers described censoring curriculum to avoid “riskier” content such as non-heterosexual sex and female pleasure. They also removed the words “sex” and “sexuality” from the title of programs, and limited parental knowledge about the programs they deliver. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-people-are-hungry-for-good-sex-education-i-found-a-program-in-mexico-that-gets-it-right-156742">Young people are hungry for good sex education. I found a program in Mexico that gets it right</a>
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<p>During class observations the author witnessed teachers hesitant to engage with important but complex topics such as consent and same-sex intimacy.</p>
<p>The Respectful Relationships curriculum has the potential to combat the misogyny of porn. By giving teachers the confidence, support and opportunity to do the job they are employed to do, we are likely to see meaningful change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158209/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon O'Mara has received funding from a Graduate Women Victoria bursary, Transforming Human Societies scholarship and a postgraduate research scholarship.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsty Duncanson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A study on the delivery of sexuality education found some teachers were anxious about parental fear, negative media and political hysteria. Sometimes they watered down ‘risky’ content.Sharon O'Mara, PhD Candidate in Crime, Justice and Legal Studies, La Trobe UniversityKirsty Duncanson, Senior Lecturer in Crime, Justice and Legal Studies, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1569612021-03-15T18:56:10Z2021-03-15T18:56:10Z‘I couldn’t escape. I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to’: confusing messages about consent in young adult fantasy fiction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389213/original/file-20210312-17-l34wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C31%2C5152%2C3414&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1511405889574-b01de1da5441?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=2850&q=80">Unsplash/Travis Grossen</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sexual consent and young people have been in the news lately, from <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/i-think-i-have-been-raped-several-times-victorian-schools-mentioned-on-online-sexual-consent-petition-balloon-20210310-p579m9.html">an online petition</a> detailing thousands of high schoolers’ recollections of sexual assault and rape to <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/schools-in-australia-will-soon-be-provided-with-sexual-consent-education-materials">calls for better school-based education</a>. </p>
<p>What young people read is another <a href="https://www.hypable.com/sex-in-ya-novels-is-important/">important form of sexual education</a>. Young adult (YA) fiction has a unique role to play in representing sexual relationships, but a number of popular YA fantasy novels send confusing and potentially harmful messages about sex and consent. Often, these are not addressed, such as when Shalia in the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/25566671-reign-the-earth">Reign the Earth</a> series (2018-2020) is forced to consummate her marriage.</p>
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<p>‘I didn’t feel love, or lust, or heat. I felt frightened … panicked beneath him.’</p>
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<p>Rather than echo the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/bodice-rippers-and-bad-education-do-romance-novels-lead-to-sexual-mistakes-2283">bodice ripper</a>” content of some adult fantasy novels (where sex <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/03/beyond-bodice-rippers-how-romance-novels-came-to-embrace-feminism/274094/">usually begins with domination</a>), books for young readers can be an opportunity to unpack what consent is and isn’t.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389226/original/file-20210312-13-16qun2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389226/original/file-20210312-13-16qun2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389226/original/file-20210312-13-16qun2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389226/original/file-20210312-13-16qun2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389226/original/file-20210312-13-16qun2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389226/original/file-20210312-13-16qun2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389226/original/file-20210312-13-16qun2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389226/original/file-20210312-13-16qun2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some books in the young adult fantasy genre echo the ‘bodice rippers’ of yesteryear.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/xU34s6wuxyU">Unsplash/Hanna Postova</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teen-summer-reads-how-to-escape-to-another-world-after-a-year-stuck-in-this-one-150646">Teen summer reads: how to escape to another world after a year stuck in this one</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Characters young people relate to</h2>
<p>Research shows young people <a href="https://theconversation.com/honest-and-subtle-writing-about-sex-in-young-adult-literature-48002">use YA fiction as a source of sex education</a>. Teens turn to novels to learn through the actions of characters they relate to. They identify with what is happening on the page and learn without having to seek advice or information from adults or peers. </p>
<p><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-07532-002">Studies</a> have also shown representations of sexual intimacy provide a behavioural script for young readers. These scripts are then put to use during their own sexual encounters. In one study, researchers heard from girls who used episodes of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118276/">Buffy the Vampire Slayer</a> to learn new “date moves”.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389217/original/file-20210312-21-1pt13tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Book cover: Twilight" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389217/original/file-20210312-21-1pt13tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389217/original/file-20210312-21-1pt13tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389217/original/file-20210312-21-1pt13tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389217/original/file-20210312-21-1pt13tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389217/original/file-20210312-21-1pt13tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389217/original/file-20210312-21-1pt13tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389217/original/file-20210312-21-1pt13tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1361039443l/41865.jpg">Goodreads</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because sex is a natural area of interest for readers, realist YA fiction engages with questions of sexual consent in clear ways. YA fantasy — the genre that includes the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41865.Twilight?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=lj3dqXfG4q&rank=1">Twilight</a> series and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767052-the-hunger-games?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=YFY9IDgzyJ&rank=1">The Hunger Games</a> — can omit some important aspects of this. </p>
<p>Psychologists have <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/psychologist-the-movies/201111/relationship-violence-in-twilight">characterised</a> schoolgirl Bella’s relationship with vampire Edward in Twilight as a template for violence and abuse, concerned fans may model real-life relationships on the narrative. Jealous Edward isolates Bella from her friends, family and potential love rivals, even sabotaging her car to prevent her escape from him. </p>
<p>Fantasy fiction is often set in a different time or place, but it still reflects contemporary concerns. </p>
<p>In many of these novels, the female character’s ability to say “yes” is denied to her. In Shelby Mahurin’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40024139-serpent-dove?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=MPUAkzNnl8&rank=1">Serpent and Dove</a> (2019), the female protagonist is forced into marriage. Brigid Kemmerer’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43204703-a-curse-so-dark-and-lonely?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=YyxsAWWU8s&rank=1">A Curse So Dark and Lonely</a> (2019) gains inspiration from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5784403-beauty-and-the-beast?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=4LJMsboGig&rank=4">Beauty and the Beast</a>, with the female protagonist captured and unable to consent to her relationship. Neither novel discusses how consent is compromised.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-why-ya-gothic-fiction-is-booming-and-girl-monsters-are-on-the-rise-95921">Friday essay: why YA gothic fiction is booming - and girl monsters are on the rise</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>‘Too shy to say the words’</h2>
<p>In Holly Black’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26032825-the-cruel-prince?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=Q1woSqhdSW&rank=1">The Cruel Prince</a> series (2018-2019), Prince Cardan physically and emotionally abuses orphan girl Jude during their relationship. Her consent to intimacy is mired in domestic violence. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389216/original/file-20210312-19-mb0arz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="book cover: The Cruel Prince" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389216/original/file-20210312-19-mb0arz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389216/original/file-20210312-19-mb0arz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389216/original/file-20210312-19-mb0arz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389216/original/file-20210312-19-mb0arz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389216/original/file-20210312-19-mb0arz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389216/original/file-20210312-19-mb0arz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389216/original/file-20210312-19-mb0arz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574535986l/26032825._SY475_.jpg">Goodreads</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When they do have sex, she does not verbally consent. Jude is “too shy to say the words” and just “kisses him instead”. This example of sexual consent contradicts models of positive consent as an “enthusiastic yes” or the viral video many young people are shown depicting consent as similar to offering someone a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQbei5JGiT8">cup of tea</a>.</p>
<p>Sarah J. Maas’ popular series, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16096824-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=q0sFbownpo&rank=1">A Court Of Thorns and Roses</a> (2015-2021) begins with a romantic relationship between Feyre and Tamlin in a magical kingdom. The series has sold over <a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/news/maas-turns-ya-author-bloomsbury-787586#:%7E:text=Maas'%20epic%20fantasy%20series%20Throne,36%20languages%2C%20said%20the%20publisher.">six million copies</a>. </p>
<p>Yet, in the first book, a serious violation of consent occurs. When Tamlin attempts to kiss Feyre, she tells him to “let go”, but instead he embeds his claws in a wall behind her head. When she pushes him away, he “grabs [her] hands and bites [her] neck”. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389211/original/file-20210312-19-k0wasb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389211/original/file-20210312-19-k0wasb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389211/original/file-20210312-19-k0wasb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389211/original/file-20210312-19-k0wasb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389211/original/file-20210312-19-k0wasb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389211/original/file-20210312-19-k0wasb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389211/original/file-20210312-19-k0wasb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389211/original/file-20210312-19-k0wasb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16096824-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=q0sFbownpo&rank=1">Goodreads</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Feyre’s reaction to Tamlin is confusing as well. While she tells him to stop, she also describes her feelings of sexual arousal. She “couldn’t escape” from Tamlin but “wasn’t entirely sure [she] wanted to”. To Feyre’s fury, the next morning Tamlin says he “can’t be held accountable” for her bruises. But by the next paragraph all is forgiven. </p>
<p>The descriptions of physical pleasure also suggest verbal consent in not the only thing in play. Is she saying no, when she really means yes? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/relationships-and-sex-education-is-now-mandatory-in-english-schools-australia-should-do-the-same-144348">Relationships and sex education is now mandatory in English schools – Australia should do the same</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Explicit consent</h2>
<p>Of course, some YA fantasy texts address consent explicitly. Tracy Deonn’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50892338-legendborn?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=LAqavceQfB&rank=1">Legendborn</a> (2020) features clear conversations of consent. When Nick asks if he can kiss Bree, she responds “Oh”. He then clarifies “Oh, ‘no’, or oh, ‘yes’?”.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389209/original/file-20210312-16-zsyahq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389209/original/file-20210312-16-zsyahq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389209/original/file-20210312-16-zsyahq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389209/original/file-20210312-16-zsyahq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389209/original/file-20210312-16-zsyahq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389209/original/file-20210312-16-zsyahq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389209/original/file-20210312-16-zsyahq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389209/original/file-20210312-16-zsyahq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32334268-valentine?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=6LB0cbLQU8&rank=1">Goodreads</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some books have questionable consent but call it out on the page. In Jodi McAlister’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32334268-valentine?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=6LB0cbLQU8&rank=1">Valentine</a> series, male faerie Finn uses his powers to enter Pearl’s dreams and lead her into sexual fantasies. When she realises what he’s done, she orders him “out of [her] head”, and they discuss his inappropriate behaviour.</p>
<p>Ambiguous scenes in YA fantasy can provide an opportunity for parents, teachers and young people to discuss consent and sexual intimacy. How are the characters consenting to intimacy? Is there an aspect of consent missing? What would be a better way for these characters to gain consent from each other? Care should be taken not to glorify taking advantage of these ambiguities in an intimate setting.</p>
<p>Classrooms can also be a place to confront the taboos of sexuality by analysing sexual interactions and unpacking how consent is given. <a href="https://theconversation.com/young-people-are-hungry-for-good-sex-education-i-found-a-program-in-mexico-that-gets-it-right-156742">Equipping teachers to facilitate conversations around trust, sex and consent</a> could further the conversation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-make-it-mandatory-to-teach-respectful-relationships-in-every-australian-school-117659">Let's make it mandatory to teach respectful relationships in every Australian school</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156961/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Little receives funding from Deakin University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristine Moruzi has received funding from the Australia Research Council. </span></em></p>Millions of people are reading young adult fantasy novels like Twilight or A Court of Thorns and Roses. But the way sexual consent is depicted in these can be confusing or even harmful.Elizabeth Little, PhD Candidate, Deakin UniversityKristine Moruzi, Senior Lecturer in the School of Communication & Creative Arts, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1567422021-03-09T19:09:09Z2021-03-09T19:09:09ZYoung people are hungry for good sex education. I found a program in Mexico that gets it right<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388434/original/file-20210309-13-2p5jdw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/diversity-students-friends-happiness-concept-535611271">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 30,000 people have <a href="https://www.teachusconsent.com/">signed a petition</a>, launched by ex-Sydney school girl Chanel Contos, demanding for consent to be at the forefront of sexual education in schools. The text in the petition states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Those who have signed this petition have done so because they are sad and angry that they did not receive an adequate education regarding what amounts to sexual assault and what to do when it happens.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The petition encouraged a growing number of harrowing <a href="https://www.teachusconsent.com/testimonies">testimonies</a> from young women throughout Australia about their experiences of sexual assault at parties.</p>
<p>School principals, particularly in all-boys schools, have responded by <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2495592029/fulltext/A8C63A0A5F3E430EPQ/7?accountid=12528">acknowledging the need for a cultural shift</a>. Some schools have gathered students for <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/rape-culture-reckoning-as-wave-of-sexual-assault-claims-unleashed-20210225-p575r2.html">sessions about consent</a>, others addressed the topic in the classroom, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/talk-to-your-child-about-sexual-consent-because-schools-can-t-manage-this-alone-20210228-p576g6.html">some have asked parents</a> to engage their children in discussions about sexual consent and social norms. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.alignplatform.org/resources/preventing-violence-against-women-and-girls-community-activism-approaches-shift-harmful">studies show</a> one-off conversations or education sessions about consent and rape are unlikely to influence long-term change. Interventions need to systematically and gradually address the harmful social norms that underpin a host of interrelated issues including rape culture, intimate partner violence and homophobic bullying.</p>
<p>I <a href="https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/centres-projects-groups/ipv-prevention-mexico">evaluated a sexuality education program</a> in Mexico City. My evaluation highlighted a number of factors that can help shift harmful beliefs and behaviours related to gender, sexuality and relationships.</p>
<h2>Engaging students in discussions</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.whatworks.co.za/resources/evidence-reviews/item/664-community-activism-approaches-to-shift-harmful-gender-attitudes-roles-and-social-norms">Evidence from around the globe</a> suggests that to transform the harmful gender norms that contribute to violence and sexual assault, programs should promote critical reflections about gender, relationships and sexuality. Evidence also shows such reflection takes time. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-make-it-mandatory-to-teach-respectful-relationships-in-every-australian-school-117659">Let's make it mandatory to teach respectful relationships in every Australian school</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>A community-based organisation providing sexual and reproductive health services throughout Mexico adapted their sexuality course in 2016. It was a 20 hour course, delivered weekly over one semester to 185 students in one school. Each group of 20 participants aged 14 to 17 had one facilitator.</p>
<p>The facilitators in the course were young people (under 30 years of age). They were trained as professional health educators, and to <a href="https://www.alignplatform.org/sites/default/files/2019-03/preventing_intimate_partner_violence.pdf">facilitate activities that promote critical reflection</a> among students about entrenched beliefs and social norms. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388416/original/file-20210309-22-90vc3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Students in classroom talking." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388416/original/file-20210309-22-90vc3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388416/original/file-20210309-22-90vc3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388416/original/file-20210309-22-90vc3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388416/original/file-20210309-22-90vc3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388416/original/file-20210309-22-90vc3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388416/original/file-20210309-22-90vc3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388416/original/file-20210309-22-90vc3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students can be encouraged to discuss lived experiences, and debate them in class.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-young-people-sitting-classroom-talking-1144633550">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such conversations can be about things like the nature of love and behaviours that are good and bad in a relationship.</p>
<p>In the program, students engaged in debates about romantic jealousy, and whether it was a sign of love. One student told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>they told us […] about what is love and what is not love. I told my boyfriend, “they told us that jealousy is bad”, and he replied, “that’s right, because it means a lack of trust”, and in this way, we sometimes talked about the course. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Vignettes that were relevant to the students’ lived experiences stimulated debates about gender roles and social norms. For example, student said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>One of the things my classmate said stayed with me. He said that the man has to work and the woman should stay in the house. It made me, like, think. I think that a woman doesn’t need to always be at home […] as if it were a prison. I think you need to give freedom to both people in a relationship.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These group conversations can be challenging. They may also be upsetting to participants, and could even provoke verbal harassment or violence. </p>
<p>One facilitator described bullying and violence during some sessions of the course. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The group started to verbally attack each other, and it was one corner of the room against the other.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This means facilitators need training not only on the concepts of gender, sexuality and relationships, but also on how best to directly address <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapol/article/35/8/993/5881794">comments that may reinforce harmful gender norms</a> or other types of violence in the classroom and use those as teaching moments to highlight the consequences of harmful social norms.</p>
<h2>Was the program successful?</h2>
<p>I saw the students become more comfortable talking about relationships and sexuality as the course progressed. One young man said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>before the course, it made us a bit embarrassed to talk about sexual and reproductive health. But afterwards we understood, with the course, that it was, like, very natural to talk about it. It’s like any other thing, and so I now feel fine talking about it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As a result of the program, some students said they directly addressed negative behaviours in their own relationships. And some even left controlling relationships. </p>
<p>One student said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You know the information they told us about relationships? I was thinking about that, and then I decided to talk to my girlfriend about her controlling behaviour.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The students also developed trust in the course facilitators over time. One young man said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As time passed, they gave me confidence that if at any moment I need something I can ask them for help, it won’t be a problem.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The facilitators made referrals to health care, provided advice and support, and in one case accompanied a participant to obtain care. </p>
<h2>What needs to happen in Australia</h2>
<p>In Australia, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/relationships-and-sex-education-is-now-mandatory-in-english-schools-australia-should-do-the-same-144348">quality and extent of implementation</a> of sexual education is often left up to individual teachers or schools. But many teachers called on to deliver sexuality education <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/53187">feel unprepared to go beyond factual biological instruction</a>. </p>
<p>A government mandate — as seen in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/relationships-and-sex-education-is-now-mandatory-in-english-schools-australia-should-do-the-same-144348">handful of countries</a> such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands — is needed to ensure high quality sexuality education is delivered to all young people in Australia. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/relationships-and-sex-education-is-now-mandatory-in-english-schools-australia-should-do-the-same-144348">Relationships and sex education is now mandatory in English schools – Australia should do the same</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But even when mandated, implementation at a national scale is challenging. To effectively deliver such programs, resources should be put towards developing a large cohort of health educators who are trained and supported to deliver quality sexual education. </p>
<p>A nation-wide program could be implemented through a partnership between national and state governments and community-based organisations already experienced with sexuality education.</p>
<h2>Parents can get involved too</h2>
<p>As shown in the quotes above, the young people in the Mexico City course <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13178-019-00389-x">discussed topics from their sexuality course</a> with peers, partners and parents. </p>
<p>This suggests that, even if parents feel unprepared to educate their children about sexual health, sexuality education can provide a bridge to open and reflective conversations. These can be a two-way exchange so parents need not serve as the educator, and can themselves benefit along with their children. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-as-simple-as-no-means-no-what-young-people-need-to-know-about-consent-155736">Not as simple as 'no means no': what young people need to know about consent</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>My research on prevention programming, as well as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0034654316632061">reviews of school-based interventions</a> more broadly, reinforces the centrality of schools, both as settings in which violence is perpetrated, and as a site for its prevention.</p>
<p>Schools are often <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140197111000248?via%3Dihub">heteronormative institutions</a> and can perpetuate toxic masculinity and rape culture. Investing in good quality sexual education can prevent the “downstream” effects we are seeing now in the testimonials about sexual assault in schools and in the national parliament.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156742/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shelly Makleff does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A sexual education program in Mexico City provides a blueprint for Australia. It shows how to engage students in conversations about lived experiences, among other effective methods.Shelly Makleff, Research Fellow, Global and Women's Health, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1557362021-02-22T23:09:01Z2021-02-22T23:09:01ZNot as simple as ‘no means no’: what young people need to know about consent<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385442/original/file-20210222-15-w0krja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teenage-couple-embracing-home-close-crop-565387747">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSduOvPbj9fDynm26O9rmuUq42DDQuaUsvvwAZVyoDjoWkCOdA/viewform">recent petition</a> circulated by Sydney school girl Chanel Contos called for schools to provide better education on consent, and to do so much earlier.</p>
<p>In the petition, which since Thursday has been signed by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/20/viral-petition-reveals-more-than-500-allegations-of-sexual-assault-in-australian-private-schools">more than 5,000 people</a>, Contos writes that her school</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… provided me with life changing education on consent for the first time in year 10. However, it happened too late and came with the tough realisation that amongst my friends, almost half of us had already been raped or sexually assaulted by boys from neighbouring schools. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>So, what core information do young people need to know about consent? And is the Australian curriculum set up to teach it?</p>
<h2>What’s in the curriculum?</h2>
<p>This is not the first time young people have criticised their school programs. Year 12 student <a href="https://www.morningtonpeninsulamagazine.com.au/people-places/2020/12/20/mount-martha-teen-speaks-out-with-abc">Tamsin Griffiths</a> recently called for an overhaul to school sex education after speaking to secondary students throughout Victoria. She advocated for a program that better reflects contemporary issues. </p>
<p>Australia’s <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/health-and-physical-education/">health and physical education curriculum</a> does instruct schools to teach students about establishing and maintaining respectful relationships. The <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/health-and-physical-education/pdf-documents/">resources provided</a> state all students from year 3 to year 10 should learn about matters including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>standing up for themselves</p></li>
<li><p>establishing and managing changing relationships (offline and online)</p></li>
<li><p>strategies for dealing with relationships when there is an imbalance of power (including seeking help or leaving the relationship)</p></li>
<li><p>managing the physical, social and emotional changes that occur during puberty</p></li>
<li><p>practices that support reproductive and sexual health (contraception, negotiating consent, and prevention of sexually transmitted infections and blood-borne viruses)</p></li>
<li><p>celebrating and respecting difference and diversity in individuals and communities.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Despite national guidance, there is <a href="https://theconversation.com/relationships-and-sex-education-is-now-mandatory-in-english-schools-australia-should-do-the-same-144348">wide variability</a> in how schools interpret the curriculum, what topics they choose to address and how much detail they provide. This is further compounded by a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2020.1792874">lack of teacher training</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/relationships-and-sex-education-is-now-mandatory-in-english-schools-australia-should-do-the-same-144348">Relationships and sex education is now mandatory in English schools – Australia should do the same</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A <a href="https://www.shinesa.org.au/media/2016/05/%E2%80%98It-is-not-all-about-sex%E2%80%99-EYPSE-Research-Report.pdf">study of students in South Australia and Victoria</a>, along with <a href="http://www.teenhealth.org.au/Previous-Surveys.php">repeated nationwide surveys</a> of secondary students, have shown young people do consider school to be a trustworthy source of sex education. But most don’t believe the lessons have prepared them adequately for relationships and intimacy. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CLf7XU_BGU-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>They want lessons that take into account diverse genders and sexualities, focus less on biology, and provide more detail about relationships, pleasure and consent.</p>
<p>The national curriculum also stops mandating these lessons after year 10 and many year 11 and 12 timetables are focused on university entrance exams or vocational learning opportunities. This means senior students have limited opportunity to receive formal sex education at a time when they really need it.</p>
<h2>So, what should young people know about consent?</h2>
<p>The term “consent” is often associated with sex, but it’s much broader than that. It relates to permission and how to show respect for ourselves and for other people. Consent should therefore be addressed in an age-appropriate way across all years of schooling.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385694/original/file-20210222-19-a6ylo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Kids playing with toy train." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385694/original/file-20210222-19-a6ylo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385694/original/file-20210222-19-a6ylo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385694/original/file-20210222-19-a6ylo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385694/original/file-20210222-19-a6ylo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385694/original/file-20210222-19-a6ylo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385694/original/file-20210222-19-a6ylo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385694/original/file-20210222-19-a6ylo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Younger children can be taught about consent with relation to sharing toys.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-happy-siblings-playing-toy-cars-623436743">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most important point about consent is that everyone should be comfortable with what they’re engaging in. If you are uncomfortable at any point, you have the right to stop. On the other side, if you see someone you are interacting with being uncomfortable, you need to check in with them to ensure they are enthusiastic about the activity, whatever it may be.</p>
<p>In the early years, students should be taught how to affirm and respect personal boundaries, using non-sexual examples like whether to share their toys or give hugs. It is also important they learn about public and private body parts and the <a href="https://gdhr.wa.gov.au/-/protective-behaviours">importance of using correct terminology</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-having-the-sex-talk-early-and-often-with-your-kids-is-good-for-them-82879">Why having the sex talk early and often with your kids is good for them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In later years, lessons should consider more intimate or sexual scenarios. This also includes consent and how it applies to the digital space. </p>
<p>Older students need to learn sexual activity is something to be done <em>with</em> someone, not <em>to</em> someone. Consent is a critical part of this process and it must be freely given, informed and mutual. </p>
<p>Consent isn’t about doing whatever we want until we hear the word “no”. Ideally we want all our sexual encounters to involve an enthusiastic “yes”. </p>
<p>But if your partner struggles to say the word “yes” enthusiastically, it is important to pay attention to body language and non-verbal cues. You should feel confident your partner is enjoying the activity as much as you are, and if you are ever unsure, stop and ask them. </p>
<p>Often this means checking in regularly with your partner.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385440/original/file-20210222-19-1ezy8qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385440/original/file-20210222-19-1ezy8qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385440/original/file-20210222-19-1ezy8qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=947&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385440/original/file-20210222-19-1ezy8qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=947&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385440/original/file-20210222-19-1ezy8qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=947&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385440/original/file-20210222-19-1ezy8qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1191&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385440/original/file-20210222-19-1ezy8qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1191&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385440/original/file-20210222-19-1ezy8qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1191&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/chanelc/">Chanelc Instagram Screenshot</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Young people also need to know just because you have agreed to do something in the past, this does not mean you have to agree to do it again. You also have the right to change you mind at any time — even partway through an activity. </p>
<h2>It’s not as simple as ‘no means no’</h2>
<p>The most recent <a href="http://teenhealth.org.au/resources/Reports/SSASH%202018%20National%20Report%20-%20V10%20-%20web.pdf">Australian survey</a> of secondary school students highlighted that more than one-quarter (28.4%) of sexually active students reported an unwanted sexual experience. Their most common reasons for this unwanted sex was due to pressure from a partner, being intoxicated or feeling frightened. </p>
<p>We should be careful not to oversimplify the issue of consent. Sexual negotiation can be a difficult or awkward process for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12358">anyone</a> — regardless of their age — to navigate. </p>
<p>Some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2018.1435900">academics</a> have called for moving beyond binary notions of “yes means yes” and “no means no” to consider the grey area in the middle. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/forget-the-pick-up-lines-heres-how-to-talk-about-your-sexual-desires-and-boundaries-53291">Forget the pick-up lines – here's how to talk about your sexual desires and boundaries</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While criminal acts such as rape are perhaps easily understood by young people, teaching materials need to consider a broad spectrum of scenarios to highlight examples of violence or coercion. For example, someone having an expectation of sex because you’ve flirted, and making you feel guilty for leading them on.</p>
<p>When it comes to sexual activity, we should be clear that:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>although the <a href="https://yla.org.au/wa/topics/health-love-and-sex/sex/">law</a> defines “sex” as an activity that involves penetration, other sexual activities may be considered indecent assault</p></li>
<li><p>a degree of equality needs to exist between sexual partners and it is coercive to use a position of power or methods such as manipulation, trickery or bribery to obtain sex</p></li>
<li><p>a person who is incapacitated due to drugs or alcohol is not able to give consent </p></li>
<li><p>wearing certain clothes, flirting or kissing is not necessarily an invitation for other things.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>We should also challenge gender stereotypes about who should initiate intimacy and who may wish to take things fast or slow. Healthy relationships involve a ongoing and collaborative conversation between both sexual partners about what they want.</p>
<h2>Consent is sexy</h2>
<p>A partner who actively asks for permission and respects your boundaries is showing they respect you and care about your feelings. It also leads to an infinitely more pleasurable sexual experience when both partners are really enjoying what they are doing.</p>
<p>It is important that lessons for older students focus on the positive aspects of romantic and sexual relationships. </p>
<p>They should encourage young people to consider what sorts of relationships they want for themselves and provide them with the skills, such as communication and empathy, to help ensure positive experiences.</p>
<hr>
<p>More information about consent:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the “<a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/relationships/sexual-consent">Consent is as easy as FRIES</a>” is a useful model</p></li>
<li><p>this viral YouTube clip shows how <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGoWLWS4-kU">consent is as easy as a cup of tea</a></p></li>
<li><p>the parent resource <a href="https://healthywa.wa.gov.au/-/media/HWA/Documents/Healthy-living/Sexual-health/talk-soon-talk-often.pdf">Talk Soon. Talk Often.</a> provides some ideas on how to start a conversation about consent with your child</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://headspace.org.au/young-people/what-is-sex-risks-health-and-contraception/">Headspace</a> and <a href="https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/what-consent">KidsHelpline</a> also has some useful resources for young people.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155736/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacqueline Hendriks works for Curtin University, is Project Manager of the RSE Project and is part of the Management Team for SiREN. She receives some funding from the WA Department of Health (Sexual Health and Blood-borne Virus Program) and is a Director of the Australian Association for Adolescent Health.</span></em></p>Sexual negotiation can be a difficult process. It’s about reading body language as well as verbal cues, and respecting the wants and needs of your partner. Schools need to teach it early and often.Jacqueline Hendriks, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1176592019-05-27T19:45:21Z2019-05-27T19:45:21ZLet’s make it mandatory to teach respectful relationships in every Australian school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276531/original/file-20190527-40038-154xzy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Victorian government is rolling out respectful relationships education in primary and secondary schools across the state.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Media <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-22/young-people-do-not-understand-texting-can-be-abuse-report-finds/11133602">reports of findings</a> from the latest <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/research-program/ncas/">National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey</a> caused a stir in recent days, with some highlighting the importance of education programs to teach young people about gender-based violence.</p>
<p>The survey of young people, aged 16-24, revealed some <a href="https://ncas.anrows.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/300419_NCAS_Summary_Report.pdf">concerning findings</a>. Nearly one-quarter of respondents agreed that women tend to exaggerate the problem of male violence. One in seven said women often make false allegations of sexual assault. One in eight weren’t aware non-consensual sex in marriage is a criminal offence.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1131815433793810432"}"></div></p>
<p>But the 2017 survey also showed positive shifts in young people’s understanding of family violence compared to the survey in 2013. Young people showed an increase in their understanding of the different forms of violence against women and more respondents endorsed gender equality.</p>
<p>Schools play a significant role in educating young people about gender-based violence and helping change the underlying attitudes that lead to it.</p>
<p>The Victorian government <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/victoria-leading-the-way-on-respectful-relationships/">began a rollout</a> of respectful relationships education in primary and secondary schools in 2016. This is a whole-of-school program that aims not only to develop students’ gender awareness and respect but also to transform school cultures to be more gender-inclusive.</p>
<p>An evaluation of the program in secondary schools <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/getmedia/634efd9c-dd7d-4e66-ba2c-5dc4780cff2f/RREiS_R3_Final_AA.pdf.aspx">found positive results</a>. One principal told researchers:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There were male teachers in positions of authority [who] used aggression as their method to get what they wanted. That just became unacceptable.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>History of gender-based violence education</h2>
<p>Schools have long played a significant role in teaching students respect and equity. Social and moral learning is embedded in the <a href="http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf">Melbourne Declaration</a>, a 2008 document that sets out the agreed national goals of schooling. These values are <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au">also embedded</a> in national and state curricula.</p>
<p>More than 25 years ago, the federal education department was <a href="http://www.awe.asn.au/drupal/sites/default/files/Ollis%20Gender%20Based%20Violence%20Programs.pdf">commissioned to develop</a> a position on gender-based violence education. This led to the development of “No Fear” – a teaching resource and whole-of-school approach to addressing the attitudes and behaviours that underpin gender-based violence.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-education-about-gender-and-sexuality-does-belong-in-the-classroom-102902">Why education about gender and sexuality does belong in the classroom</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Researchers in the mid-1990s <a href="http://library2.deakin.edu.au/search%7ES1?/aClark%2C+Louis+H/aclark+louis+h/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&FF=aclark+m&1%2C1%2C">highlighted the high levels</a> of <a href="https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/3061402">sexual harassment in schools</a>, including early childhood settings. Others pointed to the <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.460.4402&rep=rep1&type=pdf">broader gender equity</a> and <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/8207490?q&versionId=46664076">structural inequalities</a> that impact girls’ options after leaving school. </p>
<p>All of this led to a high visibility and resourcing of gender (and other) equity reforms across Australian schools. By the late 1990s, however, anti-feminist backlash and government funding cuts led to a <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/la/book/9780230517011">policy vacuum</a> in this space.</p>
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<iframe title="Summary findings from the 2017 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS)" aria-label="Table" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Lt8zw/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="384"></iframe>
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<h2>Respectful relationships education</h2>
<p>Governments have recently renewed efforts to address gender-based violence in schools through what is now referred to as <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/capabilities/personal/Pages/respectfulrel.aspx">respectful relationships education</a>.</p>
<p>This kind of education is included in the Australian Curriculum but not all state and territory governments have been proactive in making it mandatory. Victoria’s 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence recommended <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Report-Recommendations">respectful relationships education</a> be mandatory in every school from prep to Year 12. </p>
<p>The program is now being <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/capabilities/personal/Pages/respectfulrelschools.aspx">rolled out in more</a> than 1,000 government, Catholic and independent schools in Victoria.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/respectful-relationships-education-isnt-about-activating-a-gender-war-67296">Respectful relationships education isn't about activating a gender war</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Respectful relationships education seeks to prevent violence before it occurs. This is fostered through supporting schools to challenge and find alternatives to the rigid gender roles that support gender inequality and lead to violence against women. It encourages schools to examine gender in terms of:</p>
<ul>
<li>staffing (is there gender disparity in leadership positions, teaching responsibilities and extracurricular activities?)</li>
<li>school culture (does the school have an inclusive and welcoming climate?)</li>
<li>professional learning (are teachers provided with adequate and ongoing support to teach about gender, identity, power and violence?)</li>
<li>support (are schools well-equipped to deal with disclosures of violence?)</li>
<li>teaching and learning (how do curriculum and pedagogy foster students’ critical awareness of gender, power, identity and violence?)</li>
<li>community connections (how are schools working with their broader community, including families, local services and sporting clubs, to challenge rigid gender norms?).</li>
</ul>
<p>Research conducted by the not-for-profit foundation working to prevent violence against women and children <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/Who-We-Are">OurWatch</a>, and Deakin and Swinburne universities, has <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/getmedia/634efd9c-dd7d-4e66-ba2c-5dc4780cff2f/RREiS_R3_Final_AA.pdf.aspx">highlighted the potential</a> of this model to change attitudes and school structures. Students expressed thoughtful and informed views about gendered violence following their participation in the program. </p>
<p>One student said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>People think sexual assault is about sex, but it’s about power […] It’s about a sense of entitlement.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it’s a good idea to have this sort of program in more schools. It’ll stop the system; boys growing up thinking that they should be the more dominant person in the relationship and learning this now might stop that and make it less of a problem.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Teachers and school leaders also relayed positive accounts of the program’s impact. One teacher observed students were now more respectful of each other. </p>
<p>Another said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Respectful relationships education develops an understanding of the links between the language the students use with each other and how that leads to situations where women are not treated equally, undervalued or misrepresented.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>There are still hurdles</h2>
<p>Teachers, leaders and students have generally welcomed respectful relationships education. But there are still many challenges to ensuring the program is embedded in primary and secondary schools. These <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29850904">include</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>addressing misinformation, resistance and backlash – for example that respectful relationships education is about “gender engineering” or that it alienates and shames boys and men</li>
<li>acknowledging the complexities of violence against women as intersecting with poverty, Indigeneity, ethnicity, culture, and disability, among other factors</li>
<li>adequate funding to support ongoing professional learning for school leaders and teachers in relation to implementing a whole-school approach</li>
<li>supporting schools to work with and educate families</li>
<li>supporting schools to better respond to disclosures and violence-related trauma.</li>
</ul>
<p>Schools are not a panacea for transforming the ills of society. Ending violence against women will require major and far-reaching social change. The history of respectful relationships or gender-based violence education indicates schools can play a significant role in this process.</p>
<p>But it is clear short-term, inadequately funded approaches do little to recognise the complexity of change and the time it takes to bring an education community to a common understanding, awareness and commitment to change.</p>
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<p><em>Editor’s note: this article previously referred to the not-for-profit foundation working to prevent violence against women and children, OurWatch, as a charity. This has now been corrected.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117659/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Keddie is currently conducting research in affiliation with the national organisation OurWatch. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Debbie Ollis is currently conducting research in affiliation with the national organisation OurWatch. She has been involved in the Victorian government's rollout of the respective relationships program in a consultant and research capacity. She has also been involved in the design, teaching and implementation of respectful relationships education in Victoria across the education sector for over 25 years. </span></em></p>Nearly one-quarter of young people surveyed said women exaggerated claims of sexual assault. This is only one reason why education on underlying values that lead to violence against women matters.Amanda Keddie, Professor, Education, Deakin UniversityDebbie Ollis, Associate Professor, Education, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.