Loreto College principal Nicole Archard urges parents to talk to young children about sexual consent

If you wait until your kids are “old enough” for a conversation about sexual consent, it’s too late, a leading Adelaide principal says. But she can help.

The principal of a prestigious Adelaide girls school wants the safety of young women to be considered as important as their academic results, warning too many are suffering through a “silent pandemic” of sexual assault.

Loreto College principal Nicole Archard is urging “every parent” to have a conversation with their children about sexual consent – even if they think they are too young.

And she has shared a viral video with students from Year 7 to Year 12 which uses a simple metaphor to drive home the message.

Dr Archard argues young women are growing up in a society where “nowhere is safe for women” and the spectre of sexual assault “permeates like a silent disease” everywhere from Parliament House to schools, homes and “dark laneways”.

“Forget NAPLAN (results), forget ATAR (scores), I just want to know that the girls I care for … are safe from sexual assault,” she said.

“I can assure you that schools are doing all they can, but I urge every parent reading this to sit down tonight and have a conversation with your child.

“Don’t put this conversation off until you think they are old enough because, by then, it will be too late.

“Sit down tonight and tell them clearly what consent is.”

Loreto College Principal Dr Nicole Archard: “Don’t put this conversation off until you think they are old enough because, by then, it will be too late.” Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

At Loreto College Dr Archard has shared a short animated video with students titled Tea and Consent, which likens the scenario of obtaining consent for sexual acts with the straightforward negotiations involved in offering and giving someone a cup of tea.

The video finishes by posing the question: “If you can understand how completely ludicrous it is to force people to have tea when they don’t want tea … then how hard is it to understand when it comes to sex?”

Dr Archard – a mother of three adult daughters – adds that this understanding is critical to ensure young people also understand “how to not become a perpetrator” of sexual assault.

Her comments come as the federal and state parliaments are grappling with mounting allegations of sexual assaults and harassment.

Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins has been tasked with conducting a review of the workplace culture inside Canberra’s parliament house, following separate allegations of rape levelled against Attorney-General Christian Porter and a former staff member in Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynold’s office.

Mr Porter has denied the allegations.

A report into the South Australian parliament also uncovered claims of indecent exposure, assault and harassment.

Dr Archard, who holds a PhD in girls’ education and women and leadership, said she had worked in multiple schools in different states and believed the issue was “more prevalent than what we’re actually giving voice to”.

She said it was impossible for girls who suffered in silence to properly focus on their education.

“Looking after their wellbeing is just as important as academic outcomes. You can’t have one without the other,” she said.

Dr Archard acknowledged that “sometimes parents might not feel comfortable” but it was important to talk to children “at a very young age regarding who is allowed to touch them and where”.

For support phone the national sexual assault counselling service on 1800 RESPECT.

Originally published as Loreto College principal Nicole Archard urges parents to talk to young children about sexual consent