Expert says consent education must go further to keep young people safe

With recent reports showing one-third of young Australians are using violent pornography to learn about sex, and OnlyFans models posting misleading content to social media, experts say there is a clear and ongoing need for evidence-based, inclusive, and accessible consent education.

Saturday 30 November marked the International Day of Consent. This year, as Consent Labs marks the milestone of reaching 100,000 high school students, tertiary students, parents, carers and educators to change the culture around consent, Angelique Wan, CEO and Co-Founder of the youth-led not-for-profit leading the delivery of consent and respectful relationships education across Australia, is calling on the government to make long-term commitments and take a whole-of-community approach to eliminating sexual violence. 

“We cannot let another year, another International Day of Consent pass by, and accept the current status of sexual violence in Australia,” Wan says.

“At least one Australian woman is being killed by domestic violence every six days, harmful behaviours and sexual harassment are being displayed across our education system, and students are calling out for more evidence-based, inclusive, and youth-focused consent education. Our leaders must do more.”

Three key actions for positive change

As we look ahead to 2025, Wan says “we’re calling on the government to drive three key actions”:

1. “Expand on recent investments to take a long-term lens: Recent federal government initiatives point to five-year investments to help incorporate consent education into Year K-10 curriculums. These first steps need to be followed up with 10, 20, and 30+ year plans if we want to truly eradicate sexual violence in Australia. This needs to include continuously and effectively standing by teachers and educators by providing effective and evidence-based training, equipping them with the tools and skills to be active bystanders to address harassment in schools, and ensuring they have the knowledge to deliver consent and respectful relationships training either directly or indirectly in their significant role in students’ communities.
2. “Invest in a whole-of-community approach: As well as supporting teachers and students, the government needs to be equipping parents and carers, corporate leaders and working professionals, political leaders and public service staff, and every member of society to play an active and preventative role in addressing sexual violence throughout our communities. Young people are unlikely to get all the answers and support needed from one source or person, and it will truly take a village to support every young person across the country.
3. “Invite young men and boys into the conversation: Everyone has a role to play in calling young men and boys into conversations about healthy versions of masculinity, and our government should be leading this call. There is no one ‘right’ way to be a boy or a man, and mixed messages from society and the internet are not helping. There are countless versions of healthy and positive masculinity, but it will take everyone across society – including the film industry, mainstream media, political leaders, and our family and school networks – to ensure boys are supported in defining their own healthy way of being a man.”

“That whole-of-community approach is key,” Wan told EducationDaily.

“Yes, it’s great that we are now getting consent education into classrooms is absolutely important, but how are we equipping the key stakeholders in the lives of those young people? Being their teachers, the parents and carers, the community leaders they engage with in sports or other activities.

“And then beyond that, how are we equipping the community to be able to role-model what a good relationship looks like for young people, and to be able to call out sexual harassment and worrying behaviour so it’s not normalised.

“I think it’s going to take all of us to make a difference to help prevent gendered violence.”

With a recent report from Our Watch showing that the average age a young p[erson comes across pornography is now sitting around 13-years-old, Wan says that “I think it’s vital that we are having these conversations with young people before they get their education through exposure to that pornography and other unregulated, unverified forms of information”.

She is adamant that engaging with all genders is critical – “and especially young men and boys”.

“There seems like there’s a lot of blame and shame placed upon them, but I don’t believe that learning will come from that place of shame,” she says.

“It’s really hard to get them engaged if they feel like they’ve already been characterised before they even walk into the room.”

With another annual International Day of Consent now behind us, Wan says the best way to look ahead is for everyone to take ownership.

“there’s a lot of people that think sexual violence happens over there…’not in my workplace, not in my family, not in my classroom’,” she told EducationDaily.

“What I would like to see if the acceptance that it does not discriminate and that it is happening all around us – and that we can all play a part in helping prevent it.”