Ten years ago, Ontario modernized its sexual health curriculum to mandate teaching, among other things, the topic of consent beginning in Grade 2.
The 2015 plan, which was the first significant update since 1998, drew praise from many educators, sexual health experts and parents, but staunch objection from others. The changes were scrapped in 2018 in response to the pushback but a new curriculum has been reintroduced, which kept age-appropriate lessons about consent.
Some commentators continue wonder why it is so important to teach this concept to younger children.
Consent matters greatly. Understanding how consent applies in various contexts is essential for healthy relationships and in recognizing and preventing sexual abuse and sexual assault. And, in a world where social media algorithms are amplifying rape myths and far right influencers are peddling toxic masculinity, teaching consent to children and young adults in schools is an important bulwark again these narratives.
Age and Stage: Appropriate Lessons on Consent.
In response to the 2015 changes to the sexual education curriculum, some people argued that teaching consent to Grade 2 students was going to result in sexual activity at younger ages. This argument is, of course, nonsense.
Countless studies have demonstrated that when young people have access to sexual education, they are more likely to delay sexual activity than when these lessons are absent or taught with an "abstinence only" lens. For example, a UNESCO study examining sexual education courses around the world determined that this type of curricula:
- Delayed the start and decreased the frequency of sexual intercourse
- Led to fewer sexual partners
- Reduced risky sexual activities
- Increased the use of effective contraception measures and methods to reduce the risk of STI transmission
Sexual education should be about imparting knowledge that empowers a person to make informed decisions about their own body and sexual health. When a curriculum is appropriate for a student's age and development, it can not only help to protect them from unsafe or unwanted sexual activity but also teach them how to respect other peoples' autonomy.
For example, teaching consent relatively early in the sexual education curriculum gives students:
- a vocabulary to help them talk about and understand their bodies;
- an understanding of boundaries (their own and others); and,
- alerts them to sexual predators who violate these boundaries.
As children age, the concept of consent can expand to discussions about who is and who is not able to consent, non-verbal cues that indicate when someone is expressing consent or denying consent, and how consent can be withdrawn during a sexual encounter.
Studies have found that "recurring conversations with kids about gender equality, power dynamics and consent help reduce rates of sexual violence." Sexual health experts suggest that beginning these lessons and discussion early provides more opportunity to challenge and change troubling behaviour.
Sexual Education Outside the Classroom.
Today, young people learn about sex from a variety of different sources, not all of which provide the same thoughtfully developed lessons and factually accurate information found in public education.
Knowledge about sexual activity can come from family, religion, peers, and the media. The Internet continues to transform the way in which sex is depicted and discussed, and, in turn, social norms and prevailing narratives inform the way sex is discussed online.
Media analyses of news articles about sexual assault "often still use euphemisms, portray stereotypes, favour the perpetrator, show slepticism towards the survivors, and unnecessarily sensationalise the crimes." News reporting on sexual violence also overwhelmingly concerns cases where the survivor did not know the perpetrator, even though most perpetrators of sexual assault were known to the survivor.
When misinformation and disinformation about sexual assault permeates pop culture, it can affect how survivors of sexual assault understand their own experiences. For example, a meta analysis of more than two dozen research studies examining sexual violence among women age 14 years or older found that 60% of survivors did not label what happened to them as "rape." Instead, phrases such as "bad sex," "miscommunication," and "grey areas," were cited. People who are exposed to media narratives that rely on stereotypes mediate their own lived experiences.
Some studies most young people spend a significant portion of their free time on the Internet - and especially on social media. Unfortunately, that means many young people, and especially young men, are encountering regressive content. Content promoting hyper-masculinity and toxic masculinity is being normalized by algorithms which feed users a steady diet of "misogynistic content including objectification, sexual harassment or discrediting women."
What Can Be Done?
Sexual assault and sexual abuse existed long before the dawn of the Internet. While it is distressing to witness how the Internet and social media seem to have created a space where hate can fester and rape myths proliferate, the internet has also allowed for broad conversations about patriarchal structure. For example, could the #MeToo movement have developed in such a short period of time, and with the same reach among audiences, without social media?
If we want to promote the positive outcomes of sexual education, we might consider using a multi-pronged approach to help students navigate the world beyond the school's walls - including using social media to our advantage.
In addition to teaching the concept of consent, educators should consider teaching media literacy to young people. In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister recently supported the idea of screening the Netflix series Adolescence in schools to further the conversation about toxic masculinity and social media. Tapping into contemporary culture for source material makes lessons more meaningful and impactful for students.
Supporting extracurricular activities, such as the High School Too campaign, could help reinforce consent education taught in school.
We can also encourage the adoption of tools to combat and counter the ill effects of social media (and the perpetuation of rape myths in culture more generally). Studies examining the use of personal storytelling as a method to build empathy have been promising in terms of shifting an individual's belief in rape myths and in reducing sexually aggressive attitudes.
Back to the Basics: Education Is About More Than Academics.
Don't worry, skeptical internet observers - students will "still have time for math" if we bolster sexual education teaching. And, while derivatives and integrals in exponential functions may not be relevant to all of us in the future, I think we can agree that having a strong understanding of consent is something everyone should carry with them even when we put our textbooks down.
When we send our children to school, we must remember it is not just so they can be taught academics. The school environment teaches young people how to interact with diverse groups of peers, how to understand their place in a changing world, and how to apply school lessons to situations they find themselves in once the dismissal bell rings.
When it comes to teaching consent, let's develop a multi-pronged approach to ensure all students understand the three Rs - rights, responsibilities, and respect.
If you or a loved one has been a victim of sexual abuse or assault and you would like to know more about your rights and options for justice and compensation, please contact me or one of our Toronto sexual abuse lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation.