Opinion

EDITORIAL Teaching consent: Let’s get it right

As Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft told Stuff in 2021: “It’s time for New Zealand to admit [sexual violence] is an epidemic — and it needs a national epidemiclevel response.”

At the time, Becroft was responding to the results of a survey, completed by 725 students from Christchurch Girls High School. Of the students that responded, more than half reported regular experiences of sexual harassment and assault.

The survey estimated there had been, within a five-month period, 2677 incidents of harassment against 381 students — with their young male peers among the offenders. Twenty students alleged they had been raped.

That same year, a report from the government’s violence prevention strategy, Te Aorerekura, revealed an estimated 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 7 boys will experience sexual violence before the age of 16.

Let that sink for a moment.

More than year on from the Christchurch Girls High survey, a

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Young(ish), scrappy & hungry Erin Kavanagh-Hall

growing number of educators, advocates and rangatahi are calling on the government to make sexual consent education compulsory in schools.

Overseas research has shown comprehensive sex education can help reduce sexual harm — by giving young people tools to develop healthy, respectful relationships.

In Aotearoa, teaching on consent — as well as on gender diversity, online safety and pornography — is advisable under the Ministry of Education’s Relationships and Sexuality Guidelines.

However, the Ministry has no process to ensure schools are implementing these guidelines. It’s up to schools to set their own lesson plans, in consultation with their communities.

Sexual violence prevention advocate Genna Hawkins-Boulton recently surveyed 300 teens who had experienced sexual assault — all whom reported their high school consent education was “inadequate” at best, non-existent at worst.

My thoughts?

If the statistics are anything to go by, sexual violence among young people is frighteningly common — and schools are well-placed to be part of the solution. But if we’re going to mandate consent education, we need to ensure it’s delivered competently.

Sexual violence is a multi-faceted issue, and there’s more to consent education than “no means no”. For example: How do we give rangatahi the tools to handle rejection? How do we ensure a student knows what to do if someone isn’t prepared to take “no” for an answer? How do they navigate body language and non-verbal cues?

How do we ensure our consent education is inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community, rangatahi Maori and disabled students?

How do we help children develop confidence in their bodily autonomy — and the language to communicate their boundaries?

How do we guide young men to push back against a culture which teaches them they’re entitled to sex, and that women’s bodies are theirs for the taking — by force if necessary?

There’s a lot to unpack here. As with any major changes to the curriculum, educators will require significant upskilling and professional development. Consent will need to be incorporated into teacher training courses.

And I know I sound like a broken record here … but it will require buy-in from our elected leaders. It will require support and adequate resourcing for our teachers. It will require investment in our education system — which has been successively underfunded.

It will require the political will to do better by our rangatahi. And right now … I don’t know if we’re seeing anywhere near an “epidemic level response”.

Yes, we need consent education. But we need to do it properly: It can’t be another box-ticking exercise, with a few worksheets and awkward animated videos. Young Kiwis deserve better.

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The most delicious breakfast food is…

Rachael Burt

Pancakes with bacon, syrup, and bananas.

Angela Hansen-mrs Blue

Hot buttered toast and marmite and a cup of tea.

Kasey Harlen Eggs Benedict.

Cheryl Jaggard

Soft yolk poached eggs with bacon, tomatoes, and sausages.

Debbie Flannery Avocado on toast.

Richard Alan Dahlberg

Rolled oats, fruit, a slice of toast, and a cuppa.

Ginavara Baumber

Just good old toast, your favorite spread/topping, and a yummy co˜ ee. That’ll do me!

Sharlene And Clint Thompson

Black pudding with a poached egg, topped with hollandaise sauce, with a rash or two of bacon.

Emma Ayling

The breakfast bu˜ et from the Rydges [Hotel] in Wellington.

Savvy Oldershaw

Home-made natural unsweetened yoghurt with a wee splash of apple cider vinegar, gold kiwifruit, and cinnamon.

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Zoë MacKenzie

Croissants.

Elaine Leggott WC

Any meal from Scoops Café.

Rachel Bird

Fresh tomato and fried Whitestone halloumi on sandwich Vogels.

Jocelyn Konig

Sultana Bran with a sprinkle of honey nut corn° akes on top.

Robert Mackenzie

The previous night’s boil up, reheated.

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Pamela Feiertag

A crunchy bread roll with German-style meatloaf, and a nice cup of co˜ ee with cream and milk.

Margz Tulloch

Anything I don’t have to make myself — along with a good-sized cup of co˜ ee!

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CUTIE OF THE WEEK

Family time! Four-year-old Bayleigh-Rae Stewart has a cuddle with her cousin Lily-Rose Russell (six months). Courtney Mount, Bayleigh’s mum, sent in this adorable shot of her daughter and niece. Courtney says Bayleigh loves helping look after Lily-Rose – who is “super happy baby”. PHOTO/SUPPLIED