Our Watch’s Patty Kinnersly calls for consent education funding, alongside Aussie kid social media bans

Domestic violence campaigner claims a plan to ban Aussie kids from social media needs to happen alongside education to be effective in addressing the crisis of gender-based violence.

A prominent anti-violence advocate says efforts to ban Aussie kids from social media needs to be backed by school-wide education in order to stop boys accessing harmful, misogynistic online spaces.

Our Watch chief executive Patty Kinnersly said a federal government plan to set a minimum age for social media, needed to happen alongside a honest and frank discussions about respectful relationships with teenagers.

Last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the government’s commitment to raising the social media age in a bid to protect young Australians from the “serious physical and mental impacts” of platforms.

He has indicated an age limit of 16 is his preference, which has been advocated in News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign.

If the national restriction is imposed, Australia would be the first country to do so.

However, Ms Kinnersly said action was needed to stop a new generation of potential domestic abusers, with a 2023 Australian Institute of Family Studies report finding up to a third of 18 or 19 year olds had experienced violence in their relationships over the past 12 months.

Ms Kinnersly did acknowledge the internet was exposing young people to harmful messages about relationships, with boys as young as 11 accessing pornography depicting violence against women and misogyny.

“New data came out recently that told us that young people are starting to think that choking is a normal part of sexual activity,” she said.

“(But) we know that prohibition on its own has never stopped any harmful or potentially harmful activity, whether it’s alcohol or drugs or in this case access to an online environment.”

Our Watch chief executive Patty Kinnersly visited Darwin to meet with domestic violence sector leaders and government officials. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

She said the solution was to also fully fund respectful relationship education, and engage young Australians in an ongoing, honest conversation about consent and gender inequality in a ‘whole-of-school’ approach.

“The evidence based approach around respectful relationships is absolutely not about teaching young men that they’re ‘monsters’, it’s actually about teaching young people about healthy relationships,” she said.

“So with little people it’s about asking permission for a hug... right through to conversations with teenagers about consent.”

While visiting Darwin on Wednesday Ms Kinnersly pointed to programs like Tangentyere Council’s ‘Boys Can Girls Can’ campaign, which provides early childcare and primary school educators with activities and lesson plans that challenge rigid gender stereotypes, showing healthy, fun, equal and respectful relationships between kids.

The colourful signage being rolled out across Alice Springs Town Camps. Picture: SUPPLIED by TANGENTYERE COUNCIL

She said the age-appropriate consent education strategies showed how Aboriginal community-led initiatives could spark generational change to address gender inequality, and called for more funding for similar grassroots programs in the Territory.

“We need to not just have Aboriginal people at the table, but also listen,” Ms Kinnersly said.

The domestic violence prevention advocate said given the scale and severity of violence in the Territory — which has a homicide rate seven times of the rest of Australia — these long-term intergenerational strategies were often forgotten in the budget.

“When people are in hospital gurneys, when women are dying on the street... when there’s real stress on funding, prevention falls off because it’s not the politically most pressing thing,” she said.

Ms Kinnersly said the sector’s funding deficit meant there was often a ‘crabs in the bucket’ approach to money, however she said prevention was part of the puzzle to ultimately “stop the flow” of abuse.

“Selling the message of prevention is really selling a message for a better future — it’s about hope,” she said.

“It’s about sharing with people that violence against women is not inevitable.”

Both sides of Territory politics committed to providing $180m over the next five years to meet the sectors ‘base line’ needs, however it remains unclear if the CLP’s funding rollout will align with the 2021 Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Interagency Coordination and Reform Office Action Plan.

Robyn Cahill as the new NT Cabinet is sworn in at Government House. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The Action Plan called for respectful relationship education, a community awareness campaign and a sexual harassment prevention officer for NT Worksafe — none of which was approved for additional funding — with an Aboriginal-led prevention initiatives fund given only $800,000 over two-years.

Ms Kinnersley also called for a stand-alone prevention strategy for the Territory.

She said due to the timing of her post-election visit she was unable to meet with Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro or newly appointed Domestic Violence Minister Robin Cahill, but did sit down with Opposition leader Selena Uibo.

Originally published as Our Watch’s Patty Kinnersly calls for consent education funding, alongside Aussie kid social media bans