Sexual consent classes for every pupil in schools
Shake-up of sex education in wake of Ulster rugby rape trial
ALL second-level pupils are to get classes in sexual consent in the biggest shake-up of sex education in more than 20 years.
Education Minister Richard Bruton has identified consent as a priority issue for a comprehensive review.
The announcement comes the week after the Ulster rugby rape trial made consent a national issue, with calls for a broad conversation about what it means and how it is articulated.
Personal rights and negotiating sexual relationships are already covered in the sex education curriculum for second-level pupils. Now Mr Bruton wants to ensure that there is sufficient emphasis on the importance of consent and what it actually means.
Sexual consent workshops are a growing feature at third-level, and the minister’s move reflects a recognition that education around the issue must start earlier.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil wants to give rape complainants access to legal representation during a trial.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan intends to “review” how such trials are conducted here in the wake of the Belfast rape case. It will include the question of whether complainants should have their own legal representative.
But Fianna Fáil says the plan for a review is “non-committal”.
Concerns have been raised about how such trials are carried out after the case in Belfast, where the woman who made the complaint faced questions from four separate legal teams.
ALL second-level pupils are to get classes in sexual consent in the biggest shake-up of sex education in more than 20 years.
Education Minister Richard Bruton has identified consent as a priority issue for a comprehensive review of the subject.
Personal rights and negotiating sexual relationships are already covered in the sex education curriculum for second-level pupils. Now, Mr Bruton (inset) wants to ensure that there is sufficient emphasis on the importance of consent and what it actually means.
Sexual-consent workshops are a growing feature at third-level, and the minister’s move reflects a recognition that education around the issue must start earlier.
The announcement comes the week after the Belfast rape trial made consent a national issue, with calls for a broad conversation about what it means and how it is articulated.
In December, the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment pointed to an urgent need for a thorough review of sex education.
Relationships and sexuality education (RSE) has been mandatory for primary and post-primary pupils since the 1990s, but the curriculum is out of date, and sometimes it is not taught or not taught well.
Mr Bruton’s brief to curriculum advisers is to update RSE content so that it meets the needs of young people in modern Ireland, and to examine how well it is being delivered.
The minister, who announced the review at the start of his round of teacher union conferences, has written to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), giving pointers as to what he wants covered.
It will also encompass developments in contraception, healthy sexual expression, safe use of the internet, the effects of social media on relationships and self-esteem, as well as LGBTQ+ issues.
The review will cover both the primary and post-primary curriculum, and changes made will be age-appropriate.
The new review is open-ended and will look at all aspects of the curriculum, but educationalists consider it unlikely that sexual consent would be introduced until second level.
The focus at primary level is on relationships, respect and use of proper names for body parts, with senior classes learning about reproduction. For teens, it covers contraception, sexually transmitted infections and sexual orientation.
Young people today are growing up in a different cultural landscape from the 1990s, when the internet was in its infancy and social media networks had not been invented.
In terms of contraception, the 1990s curriculum was written well before the legalisation in Ireland on the morning-after pill in 2003. The emergency contraception became available without prescription in 2011. The minister has also asked the NCCA to examine the experience and reality of RSE as delivered in schools, including the effectiveness of teacher training, supports offered by outside agencies and the level of involvement of parents.
The NCCA will seek the views of parents and students, as well as teachers and principals.
Mr Bruton emphasised the important role parents play in RSE and said a need for more effective communication from schools to parents about what is being taught had already been identified. The minister said he wanted “to ensure that the RSE curriculum meets the needs of young people today, who face a range of different issues to those faced by young people in the late 1990s”.
He added: “The RSE curriculum fulfils an important function. Every student has a right to access information about sexual health, relationships and sexuality, and this must be delivered in a factual manner in every school.”