Teens to learn about consent in sex-ed shake-up

Sexual consent will be taught to children as young as 14 under new “respectful relationship” lessons to tackle abuse.

Teens will be taught that some “romantic’’ gestures are abusive and given tips on nightclub etiquette, in new classroom lessons to tackle sexual assault.

Sexual consent will be taught to children as young as 14 while primary school kids will learn about violence against women, in the “respectful relationship” lessons to be launched by the federal government today.

The sex-ed lessons will teach teenagers that everyone has the right to say no to sex at any time.

“You can’t gain consent from someone who is drunk,’’ a lesson plan for senior high school students states.

“No one is ever obligated to have sex.’’

The new sex education curriculum aims to prevent domestic violence among the next generation of young adults, and stamp out shocking evidence of sexual assaults between high school students.

More than 350 videos, digital stories, podcasts and other classroom materials will be available free to teachers, students and families through The Good Society website, as part of the taxpayer-funded Respect Matters program.

After parents, schools can play a vital role in teaching kids about relationships and respect.

Kids as going as four will learn about empathy, peer pressure, interacting respectfully and “challenging discriminatory behaviour”, in lessons for primary school students.

High school students in years 7 to 9 will learn about “relationships and power, and abuse”.

They will taught to “challenge stereotypes’’ in TV shows and movies, with the lesson plan stating that some “romantic” behaviours are abusive.

“The hero’s determination to get the girl should always be grounded in respecting her as a person who can make up her own mind,’’ the guide states.

“Disrespectful behaviours include waiting around outside her house, following her as she goes about her life, persistent calls and texts, breaking into an apartment to fill it with flowers (or) turning up unannounced as a ‘surprise’.

“The media might portray these behaviours as romantic, but they are not.

“Harassment is an abusive behaviour and stalking is a crime.’’

Violence against women will also be dealt with in the lessons for younger teenagers, to be released today by federal Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge and Minister for Women’s Safety Anne Ruston.

Older teens will learn about intimate relationships, sexting and sexual consent and decision making, in lessons for Years 10 to 12.

They will be taught to “stop, ask and listen’’ to discover how a potential partner feels, and what they want.

The Australian Government has spent $7.8 million on the Respect Matters program.

The lessons outline “controlling behaviours’’, such as monitoring a partner’s social media or tracking their movements, verbal abuse, restricting access to money or ridiculing a partner’s religion.

Teens are even given tips on nightclub etiquette, advising them to use “repeated eye contact’’ or to “tap and wave’’ at a potential dance partner to get their attention.

The guide warns against the “grab and dance’’, where one person “just grabs the other person’s butt or hips and starts dancing with them’’.

The Respect Matters program was developed by Our Watch, the eSafety Commissioner and the Foundation for Young Australians, as well as parent, community and principals’ groups.

The lesson material for children from kindy and prep, through to year 12, is in line with the Australian Curriculum, but teachers will be able to choose what to teach in their classrooms.

Mr Tudge said schools were important in building and maintaining respectful relationships from a young age.

“The most important people in teaching kids about respect and relationships are parents, but schools can also play a vital role,” he said.

Senator Ruston said early intervention and education were key to a future without domestic violence.

“We need to work on preventing violence before it begins,” she said.