Sexual abuse in schools: Jail threat needed to get boys to understand consent, lawyer Adair Donaldson says

A Queensland sexual abuse lawyer says boys should be warned they could end up in jail for breaking consent laws, as more revelations of sexual assaults connected with private and public schools come to light.

A Queensland sexual abuse lawyer says boys should be warned they could end up in jail for breaking consent laws, as a state review into school sex education gets underway.

Adair Donaldson has delivered sex education and training to hundreds of schools for the past decade, and told The Courier-Mail there were huge deficiencies when it came to teaching school student’s consent laws.

“We want them to understand what the laws are, and what the consequences are going to be if they get it wrong,” he said.

“If you get it wrong when it comes to consent, you could end up in jail with all the other sex offenders.”

Thousands of sexual assault allegations from school girls in an online petition calling for better consent education this week prompted Education Minister Grace Grace to announce a review of current consent and reporting education.

Mr Donaldson said including education on the legal specifics around consent was crucial, with many unaware of laws surrounding legal age, mobile phone use, and attempting sexual relations with someone who was drunk.

Education Minister Grace Grace. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jono Searle

“People still think it is OK to pull out mobile phones and take videos of people who may be passed out in a state of undress or participating in a private act and take a picture and share that around,” he said.,” he said.

“Education is not a silver bullet, it’s not going to be something which is going to bring out change straight away.

“Schools are a wonderful place to start this, but it’s only one place. These conversations need to happen at home.”

Chanel Contos will work with Education Minister Grace Grace.

Petition founder Chanel Contos is set to collaborate with Ms Grace on the review, telling The Courier-Mail she was “so happy” the government had made the commitment.

“I think it’s such a progressive step that they are willing to review and reflect on the current structures, because clearly they’re not good enough,” she said.

“Even to acknowledge that something needs to change and that there’s a problem is such a great step.

“I would love to work with them on it.”

Ms Grace, who described the public allegations as “very disturbing”, said she planned to reach out to Ms Contos to discuss what needed to change.

“I will make contact with her and I look forward to working with her,” she said.

“It is all about saying, ‘is there enough that we are doing, how do we interrelate with the community and with society at large?’.”

“Of course the schools have a role to play and how best do we meet that role.”