3 minute read
R.E.S.P.E.C.T
When we initially started brainstorming for if:revived, it was clear to all of us involved that we wanted this magazine to be a time capsule of 2021 -- the events, movements and people that inspired change or were at the focus of global events. But most importantly, we all had a strong understanding that we couldn’t hide or gloss over the conversations that tend to make us uncomfortable. Because if they’re uncomfortable, it’s a conversation worth having.
In February 2021, Brittany Higgins, a former member of staff in parliament, came forward with allegations of rape against a liberal staffer, followed by other women with similar allegations. As a consequence, students across the country demanded that the Australian curriculum must implement more explicit education on consent and start at younger year levels.
Chanel Contos, a former Sydneysider and now student at University College London, launched a petition demanding more “holistic sexual consent education” through the use of social media and in an online petition offering students the opportunity to provide testimonies. So, I read through them.
Six thousand, seven hundred and fifty six testimonies have been written at the time of writing this, with varying allegations of assault and harassment, including the sharing of private images, to drugging and raping. Although I was shocked by the extent of the graphic nature of these testimonies, I have heard stories like this before. Growing up in a country and environment that is widely viewed to be safe, I had little understanding of the gravity of sexual harassment until I was twelve. On having discussions with my friends, it is clear that for many of us, our first experiences of harassment begin around puberty. However, like many of us we brushed these off as ‘normal’, it was just a comment, a small remark, a minuscule action in the scheme of things. “Don’t overthink it, it’s just the way things are”.
However, Conto’s petition has revealed that many predominantly female students, are sick and tired of having to justify or defend their right to say “no.”
As a result of Conto's petition, the Victorian government announced consent education would be mandatory in all government schools. But regardless of going to a government school or not, sexual assault has no barriers, no class, age, gender, religion or ethnicity. This is not a matter for only some schools, but should be mandatory in every school across the country.
To be perfectly honest there was a certain level of apprehension, when I decided to write on this topic. I did not want to blame or alienate anyone, and someone even suggested to me that I’ll be bullied for highlighting this issue.
That just demonstrated the need for this article. Sexual consent is not an issue that will ever go away and if talking about it ‘triggers’ us or makes us uncomfortable, it is evidence of how inadequate our conversation around it has been.
There are some who see such education as a “war on men” – but this denies the fact that clear protocols around sexuality are good for both sexes, giving everyone a shared understanding of positive relationships and intimacy. If women are happier and more relaxed with greater trust about intimate relationships, men benefit equally. It’s not a female issue. It’s a human issue. We can’t blame anyone; it is a fault in our education, but now is the opportunity to create change, an opportunity we must grasp. In a world that is constantly divided, is it too much to ask that we forget our differences, our gender, religion, class or politics to tackle this issue? Is it too much to ask that young Australians are given the education they need, so that every adolescent enters the world with a fundamental sense of how to treat each other? If the lines are still blurred enough to allow sexual trauma to happen, then there is obviously something wrong with our system.
Edmond Mbiaka
Consent education should be fundamental to our schooling, along with English, maths and science, from year five to twelve. We are the inheritors of this country and we must define our values now.
written by lucie gill
