Consent Matters program to expand with focus on stealthing, enthusiastic consent

A school sexual education program is highlighting the illegal removal of condoms and the need to gain enthusiastic consent.

A PROGRAM that teaches school students about the illegal removal of condoms and “enthusiastic” consent is being expanded.

In a bid to address the “national sexual violence crisis”, Sexual Health Victoria is rolling out a program that will teach thousands of students, at-risk young people and youth workers about ‘stealthing’ – the crime of removing a condom or other protection during sex without the other person’s knowledge or consent.

The state government passed new laws in August last year, making stealthing illegal and shifting to an affirmative consent model.

This means a person must now confirm they have received consent from a sexual partner in a bid to shift scrutiny from the actions of the victim-survivor to those of the accused.

New laws passed last year made stealthing illegal and adopted an affirmative consent model.

It comes after Victoria recorded its biggest spike in sex assaults in almost 30 years.

The number of reported sex assault victims in the state jumped 12 per cent to 6,164 in 2021 from the previous year, the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data show.

The program, Consent Matters, is designed to help young people understand the new laws.

The organisation delivered 300 consent programs to over 8000 students across Victoria last year and is planning to expand this year.

The program also aims to reach over 100 youth and community sector workers.

Sexual Health Victoria schools and community manager Samantha Read said it is “absolutely critical” that students learn about stealthing and the need to gain consent which is actively sought and enthusiastically given.

“A big part of our work will be helping young people understand what it actually means, what it looks like and what they can do about it,” she said.

Stealthing is when a partner secretly removes a condom during sex without consent.

“Affirmative consent is critical to addressing and reducing sexual violence, as it puts the onus on the person wanting to engage in sexual activity.”

Ms Read said the rate of sexual violence will continue to rise if young people are not educated about consent earlier.

“Consent is a protective behaviour. It’s so that young people understand the laws,” she said.

“So they have the language to describe if something bad is happening to them and therefore learning about consent needs to start at an early age.”

The organisation teaches consent education to all students, starting from prep.

In the early years lessons are focused on protective behaviours and body safety, leading to sexual consent education in secondary school.

Chief executive of mental health charity the Man Cave Hunter Johnson said it was crucial to deliver consent lessons to young boys in schools, particularly after the lockdowns.

“When they returned back to school, because they hadn’t been as socialised or had as many in person social interactions, they were way more disruptive and way more disrespectful, in particular, to their female teachers,” he said.

“Schools really had to effectively try and train their kids back into healthy classroom dynamics.”

A Department of Education spokesperson said schools are required to teach consent in an “age-appropriate way across all year levels”.

“The teaching of consent is mandatory in all Victorian government schools and has been since Term 2, 2021,” they said.

“We have developed a Sexuality and Consent Education policy and in April 2021 published guidance on teaching consent in an age-appropriate way, using teaching materials developed with leading experts in the sexuality and relationships education field.

‘’Some schools choose to partner with organisations like Sexual Health Victoria to deliver components of the curriculum.”