The Australian Human Rights Commission is to conduct a national survey on the consent education of secondary school students across the country.
Announced by Acting Minister for Education and Youth, Stuart Robert, Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins and National Children’s Commissioner, Anne Hollonds are to undertake the survey.
“A baseline survey in 2022 will provide a world-leading data set and support meaningful and practical advice for teachers and officials as they work to implement the recent decision of Education Ministers to strengthen consent and respectful relationships education in the Australian Curriculum,” Mr Robert said.
“It will also further inform the Government’s work on respectful relationships and national prevention strategies on a range of issues,” he said.
Commissioners Hollonds and Jenkins welcomed the announcement which came as part of a five-year package to strengthen prevention and early intervention efforts in family, domestic and sexual violence.
They said the survey would provide benchmark data to gauge the impact of consent education in the revised Australian Curriculum, expected to be rolled out nationally from 2023.
Minister for Women’s Safety, Senator Anne Ruston said the package also included funding for the development of two new national campaigns.
“This campaign is all about encouraging parents to talk to their children about the issue of consent and, importantly, equipping them with tools to have conversations with young people over 12 about consensual and respectful relationships through a suite of online resources,” Senator Ruston said.
“Drawing on the success of campaigns such as Scotland’s Don’t Be That Guy, a second campaign will ask men to consider how they can hold each other to account because sexual violence should not be considered a women’s problem to solve,” she said.
