New curriculum on consent education coming to schools for Australian students next year

It’s one of the biggest changes in the school curriculum that will impact all students in Australia, and it was spearheaded by ex private schoolgirl, Chanel Contos.

A former Sydney student’s Instagram poll that exposed a disturbing trend of sexual assualt among high school students has led to a landmark decision that will affect all Australian children from prep grades to Year 10.

Chanel Costos, an ex-student of Sydney’s prestigious Kambala School, asked her followers if they or someone they knew had “experienced sexual assault from someone who went to an all boys school”.

The post received more than 200 “yes” responses, which led to the Teach Us Consent platform which became a space for people to share their experiences and petition for earlier and more holistic sexual education lessons.

In total the project gathered more than 44,000 signtaures, with more than 6600 people coming forward to share their powerful stories.

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Former Kambala student Chanel Contos who started an anonymous online petition to improve sex and consent education in schools across Australia. Picture Supplied

While the original Instagram poll was posted just over a year ago, Education ministers have “unanimously” voted to mandate consent education into the curriculum.

Appearing on Sunrise on Friday morning, Ms Contos gave further insight into what the lessons might deliver.

“The curriculum is age-appropriate the whole way through so when we are in kindergarten we do not talk about consent in an explicitly sexual way, it is about sharing toys and asking for permission, denying permission and it builds upon that as students get older,” she said on Friday morning.

Slated to be implemented from 2023 onwards, the course will be holistic and age-appropriate, while focusing on comprehensive consent education.

It is expected the new curriculum will cover topics like consent, gendered stereotypes, coercion and power imbalances for older students, while kindergarten or “foundation” students are expected to learn about empathy, respectful relationships and seeking permission.

Immediately after the curriculum was confirmed, Ms Contos shared her thanks to the people who shared their testimony.

“We did it,” she said on Instagram.

“This monumental change has only been made possible because of the tens of thousands of voices that have supported this movement over the last 12 months, the countless hours of volunteer support, and the foundation that was laid before by pioneering activists in this space,” Ms Contos wrote on her Instagram.

Speaking to Lisa Wilkinson on The Project on Thursday night, Ms Contos said the news left her “in a bit of shock”.

“The first time I ever saw the curriculum and what was being proposed, I cried,” she admitted.

More than 44,000 people have signed and more than 6,600 have shared their story through Ms Contos’ petition. Picture Supplied

Shadow Education Minister Tanya Plibersek said it was “fantastic work”.

“Understanding consent empowers and protects young people,” she wrote on Twitter

Speaking on International Women’s Day last year, the Sydneysider said that it was time for everyday Australians to reflect on the things they can do to encourage change.

She said the scale of the issue Australia faces has been laid bare.

“We live in a society where sexual assault is normalised due to our attitudes towards gender and sexuality,” she said.

“We all agreed that rape is not OK, but it’s the small actions and throwaway phrases we do allow that have led to the thousands of heartbreaking testimonies of sexual assault.”

Originally published as New curriculum on consent education coming to schools for Australian students next year