Education Minister Sarah Mitchell promised new consent education resources would be made readily available to teachers,but they will be optional.Credit:James Brickwood
Masters student Chanel Contos,whosepetition on sexual assault blew open a “rape culture” among teenagers, was lukewarm on the government’s announcement,saying it did not reflect what young people had asked for and that success could only be gauged by surveying students’ understanding of consent and a reduction in sexual assaults.
“Measuring the resources by how often they are being used doesn’t assess how good they are or if they’re being properly delivered. Even if NSW believes its consent curriculum is the best in Australia,what the numbers show is it’s clearly not enough. That worries me,” she said.
“There are good aspects of this,teacher training and undertaking surveys is important. But we need to draw specifically on the knowledge of sexuality education experts and specialists in reducing sexual assault,not just those within the school system.”
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Specialist researcher Katrina Marson said she had feared the government would “just throw consent into the curriculum a bit more,improve some resources,and say we’ve fixed the problem”.
“We’re still in the position we were before,when we were at the whim of particular schools choosing when they’re going to teach it and how,” she said.
“These resources don’t guarantee every person will have access to comprehensive relationships and sexuality education,or that teachers will be fully equipped to teach it. They offer a shiny new product,but they don’t answer any of those structural problems.”