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Call for Sex Ed Reforms

17 June 2016

By Lois

There is currently a great deal of campaigning by various groups (namely groups such as ‘campaign4consent’) to have sexual consent taught in schools as part of SRE (sex and relationships education). What is currently considered obligatory SRE varies from country to country (for more information, click here) but the common bare minimum is largely puberty and STIs, which are taught as part of the science curriculum, as well as a basic framework for PHSE which includes information on contraception and other subject matter sometimes including healthy relationships. However, this fluctuates enormously and, largely speaking, not all of what is considered PHSE is compulsory.

So far, so coy. But why do we need SRE reforms so badly? Firstly, there have been a number of surveys carried out with examples of ‘is rape okay when…’ which were met with shocking results. For example, more than half of the males asked thought rape was okay if:

·       She is going to and then changes her mind

·       She has led him on

·       She gets him excited sexually.

Secondly, approximately 85,000 women and 12,000 men are raped in England and Wales each year, as well as half a million adults who are sexually assaulted. Furthermore, 90% of female rape survivors reported having known their offender prior to the offence, 56% being either a partner or former partner. This is clear evidence that the threat is nearly never a stranger, or someone hiding in the bushes on a dark night (although, of course, quite horrifyingly this threat does exist); the immediate concern is the people we know best. So surely this threat could be best reduced by teaching young people about healthy relationships, how to recognise when they are not in one and how to communicate what they want from a relationship and interpret what their partner wants. One in five high school students have reported being physically and/or sexually assaulted by a dating partner. This is startling evidence that the education system is drastically failing the very students it is supposed to be protecting by not teaching them about how to recognise and deal with an abusive relationship.

As a student myself, I have been taught how to avoid grooming but have never received any real guidance on maintaining a healthy relationship. This is a common story among young people throughout the country, along with a complete failure to recognise and cater to the growing call for SRE relevant to members of the LBGT+ community. Statistically, females aged 16-19 are at the highest risk of being a victim of sexual offence, and 35.8% of sexual assaults occur when the victim is between the ages of 12-17. The issue is not alien to this age group and it is important that the government properly tackles these issues among young people to give them the proper tools required to deal with and understand the world they live in. The curriculum is lacking nearly all the vital information on sex and relationships which young people need to be taught and it is leaving them at a painful disadvantage when dealing with the real world. After all, pretending young people have no idea sex exists is absurd, but why make it any more difficult for them to navigate something which is such a big deal in today’s society because you’re choosing to be prude? Schools need to develop a far more open attitude before it’s too late and we become a generation who have learnt about sex and relationships through internet pornography and classroom whispers, because I dread to think what that looks like.

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