The roundtable will be attended by federal Minister for Women’s Safety Anne Ruston,chief executive of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) David de Carvalho,Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins,National Children’s Commissioner Anne Holland. Representatives from the federal Education Minister and the Minister for Women’s offices will also attend.
Delegates will split into small groups where they will hear directly from a young person who has experienced sexual assault,but focus on the curriculum in their discussions. Ms Contos said it would be the last opportunity to put her petition in front of national authority ACARA before the curriculum for the next five years was finalised and submitted to the nation’s various education ministers.
“There are thousands of people around Australia who want what we want,but it’s up to a handful of people to make decisions about these things,” Ms Contos said.
“I want the young survivors who are attending this meeting to be at the centre. I want it to be a chance for their voices to be heard,and I want politicians and key players to have their guards down and know we’re having a conversation.
“Throughout this campaign so many things have popped up that we now advocate for. But this really focuses on our initial goal,which is mandating consent education in the national curriculum and what 43,000 people signed up for.”
Ms Contos’ petition to introduce earlier and more holistic sex educationexposed the extent of the problem andlaunched weeks of public discussion. In NSW,it was followed by anew police operation,spike in sexual assault reporting andreform of the state’s consent laws. But progress on curriculum reform has been patchier.
The NSW government,which says its inclusion of consent in the curriculum is adequate,is rolling out optional resources for teachers,but aparliamentary debate on the issue has been delayed due to COVID-19. Victoriahas introduced mandatory and specific classes on consent and Queensland will also implement more explicit and earlier consent education.