Why aren’t boys being taught about consent? Ministers, officials raise alarm
Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Most boys aren’t being properly taught about consent, according to a new Education Review Office report that raises serious concerns about the quality of relationships and sexuality teaching.
The office said the requirement for schools to consult the community before teaching about relationships and sexuality meant teachers were often unable to do their jobs. Disinformation, threats of violence and bigotry were derailing sex ed, the review found.
Now, Education Minister Erica Stanford is promising to overhaul sexuality and relationships education programme.
Both Stanford and the former education minister, Labour’s Jan Tinetti, said the findings about consent education were particularly troubling.
But on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was celebrating the “removal” of relationship and sexuality guidelines for teaching. NZ First interpreted the Education Review Office as saying “that indoctrination in schools has failed”.
Why it matters
Discussion about gender, sexuality and relationships can spark political debate. NZ First campaigned on removing the teaching guidelines completely. But Stanford, who is from National, said she did not want politicians writing the curriculum.
Many students and parents have been complaining to the Government about the inconsistent and often low standard of teaching pupils have received about these topics. Two thirds of the young men surveyed by the Education Review Office said they received no teaching about consent and healthy relationships.
Intimate partner violence and sexual harassment are major problems in New Zealand. Recent justice sector reports indicate a third of women have been victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. This is impacting girls and young women, with one in five aged between 15 and 19 reporting sexual assault. It’s also hurting men, with 12% of men saying they have experienced sexual assault.
The breakdown
Following the ERO report, Stanford confirmed the Ministry of Education would “convene a group of curriculum writers” to update the relationship and sexuality teaching programme.
She also confirmed that, as per the NZ First coalition agreement, the existing relationship and sexuality education guidelines would be “removed by the end of the first term”.
But Stanford indicated the new curriculum would continue to teach about relationships and sexuality. She said she would oversee the first update of those teaching guidelines since 2004.
The ERO said the Government should remove the requirement for school boards to have to consult parents about what should be taught. It said they should instead inform parents what the curriculum required.
Who said what
Stanford said the requirement for schools to consult had discouraged many from even teaching about relationships.
“The report was really interesting in the fact that it brought up that schools feel like they are in the middle of almost what is a turf war. It’s a really unfair position for them to be in, to be forced to consult consult with a community that is deeply divided over some issues,” Stanford said.
“So having a clear curriculum which lays out what needs to be taught and when is a much better way to go.”
She said politicians would not be involved in crafting that new curriculum.
“I don’t think that politicians should be going anywhere near the curriculum. This is for the experts,” Stanford said.
The Education Review Office said the process for teaching about relationships and sexuality was letting down students.
“Nearly a quarter of schools deliver relationships and sexuality education on an ad-hoc basis. In addition to this, too many of our young people are reporting that they didn’t learn enough at school,” said the ERO’s head of evaluation Ruth Shinoda.
“Over three-quarters of recent school leavers told us that they didn’t learn enough about consent, managing feelings and emotions, and personal safety, including online.”
Stanford said it was “eye opening” to see that most boys were not taught about consent.
Tinetti said the issue about consent education was constantly being raised with her by students while she was education minister. She said she was pleased to see the Government continuing with the plan to rewrite this area of the curriculum.
What next?
The Ministry of Education will release a draft of the topic areas to be taught in term one, with consultation about the curriculum update to open later next year.