Parents should educate themselves about sexual consent so they can teach their kids about it, the federal government says, with a new $40m national campaign encouraging adults to learn about the issue to address “confusion”.
The consent education advocate Chanel Contos said it was “not enough” simply to teach children about the issue in schools, saying parents also needed to step up and talk to their kids about consent. She encouraged parents to educate themselves and speak to other adults about consent.
“When we don’t have these sorts of conversations, young people can be left unsafe,” Contos said.
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“It makes complete sense to be unsure about how to have this conversation about consent, especially if your parents never had it with you. But that is no excuse to not go and learn.”
The social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, will launch the new consent campaign on Sunday. The campaign centres on the message “if we don’t know the answers, how will our kids”, asking adults to inform themselves so they can have appropriate conversations with their children.
“Australians know that sex without consent is wrong, however, there can be high levels of confusion around the definition of consent, and who is accountable in non-consensual scenarios,” Rishworth’s office said in a statement.
The government pointed to statistics showing one in five Australian women and one in 16 men had experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. Women were most likely to experience sexual violence at the hands of an intimate partner.
Rishworth said many parents may not feel comfortable talking to their kids about consent, even as she pointed to research showing the vast majority of Australians thought adults needed to talk about it.
“Learning about consent isn’t just about reducing harm, it is about providing the next generation with skills to have safe, healthy relationships for life,” the minister said.
“This national campaign encourages people to learn more about consent, talk about it with other adults, and ultimately build a shared community understanding of the topic for the benefit of the next generation.”
0:32’What if we’ve been drinking’: Australian government launches consent campaign – video
The major campaign will run on TV, online and in cinemas for the next year, asking adults to talk to each other and their kids about consent. It will be accompanied by a new website, consent.gov.au, with new interactive quizzes and what the government calls “Misconception Cards”, which will debunk common myths about consent.
The assistant social services minister, Justine Elliot, said there were “contradictory messages and myths around consent”, saying the government wanted to provide “clarity and consistency on the messaging”.
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2024-05-25 15:00:35
Article from www.theguardian.com