in the classroom found 18 consent-related programs in the peer review literature . They had some strengths but also some weaknesses . We found that many programs framed consent within the consent of risk and potential negative impacts of sexual activity as opposed to healthy relationships , so that ’ s one key area that I think could be fixed .
We also found that programs rarely moved beyond the individual and interpersonal level to include discussions of social structures that can influence how young people negotiate sexual encounters with one another .
And very few programs have tended to involve young people themselves in codesign , and we know from best practice in sex education that involving young people in the design of curriculum is really important towards meeting their needs .
How consent is taught will be up to each individual school ’ s interpretation , but what are some ways you think schools can involve students in developing their consent curriculum ? I think young people can and should be involved in the design and delivery of consent education to ensure the program content and outcomes are acceptable to them , they ’ re appropriate and they ’ re responsive to young people ’ s unique needs and the realities of their everyday lives and their sexual activity .
There ’ s great examples of co-design in education curriculum that schools and programs can look towards . It ’ s really just about having young people at the table from the beginning to inform the content to be considered , the activities and methods to be employed and the kind of outcome that they want to see .
Of course , we know that young people are incredibly diverse so it ’ s not just about speaking to one young person and counting that as meaningful consultation , but speaking to a group of young people who are diverse on the basis of gender , sexuality , culture , disability and so forth .
What are some ways that we can teach consent to younger , primary school and early learning aged children in a way that ’ s age appropriate ? Consent can be taught from a very young age before people are sexually active . It ’ s really about an acknowledgement that every person , every child , has a right to autonomy and self-determination over their body .
In early education , topics can really centre on young kids learning the correct names for their body parts , respecting a child ’ s choices about touch , teaching children to respect other people ’ s boundaries , asking for consent to give a hug , identifying and expressing how they feel , good or bad . All of that , I think , is quite important to understand from a young age and can lay the foundation for informative discussions later on about sexual consent with teenagers .
How can we go about having open and effective discussions with adolescents about really complex topics like consent and sexual assault , power imbalances and gender stereotypes ? I think all of those topics are so crucial when we think about consent because we know that reducing violence requires not just learning about consent to what you see in sex , but also understanding and changing these social structures and cultural norms that can make sexual violence more likely to occur .
Those conversations are really , really crucial around power and inequity . Of course , having those conversations can be difficult , they can be triggering , and so I think one of the most important things that education settings will have to prioritise will be the creation of safe learning environments where these conversations can happen .
We know there will be students who have already experienced rape or sexual assault . How can we design this new consent education in a way that doesn ’ t victim blame or cause trauma to come up ? I think , again , it comes back to creating a safe learning environment . There ’ s lots of ways that teachers do that . Beginning lessons by setting some ground rules that the class comes up with together around the fact that these are going to be difficult topics , that some people may have lived experience of these topics and that there are some principles we ’ re all going to agree to in order to have a safe , positive , affirming conversation about consent and power inequity and related issues .
I think there also needs to be a mechanism in place for people to report any experiences that may relate to sexual
Consent can be taught from a very young age before people are sexually active .
violence . There needs to be psychological support in place , so counsellors available to debrief with students when they feel triggered by some of the conversations .
In your report last year you and your colleagues wrote that changing sexual consent culture in schools needs to be more than just relying on the teacher and the program itself . Can you elaborate on this ? Best practice in consent education advocates for a whole school approach . It ’ s about changing the culture , the policy , institutional practices , not just educating the students . It really does require a consistent set of policies , principles and values pertaining to consent and respectful relationships . And these values need to be promoted and embodied across the school setting . That includes parents , teachers and principals .
Based on the research you have done on the impact of global sexual consent programs in schools around the world , what kind of impact can we expect to see ? We know that incorporating consent into sex education can reduce adverse outcomes . It can also have positive effects on knowledge and attitudes around affirmative consent , around what healthy relationships should look like , even around gender equality and , crucially , bodily autonomy .
It ’ s hard to predict the future but we would hope that implementing this into school settings would certainly have some positive impacts . We might not see it immediately . It might take some years . And of course , we know that addressing sexual violence nationally and globally requires much more than just consent education . It really does require a multi-sectoral approach to address all of the root causes of sexual violence at the institutional and society levels .
It is a big issue and it requires a lot of resourcing and action to achieve change . ■
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