AN OPEN LETTER

“No” is a word most people learn at a young age. We learn to say it and, in turn, hear it. However, rape culture persists as an insidious horror in New Zealand society. Now more than ever, rape culture is at the forefront of popular conversation. Many are asking, “can anything be done to stop this from happening again?”

One possible solution is apparent: mandatory consent education. If consent education was made mandatory, students from a young age can be more informed of rape culture and how it can be dismantled in this country. Last year, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of Parliament to protest, in response to the rape jokes posted on Facebook by some male Wellington College students. This event sparked outrage among many, and calls to make consent education mandatory was at the heart of the protest. Paula Bennett, Deputy Prime Minister at the time, addressed the crowd and said their “voices [were] heard”. However, this statement contradicts reality. We contacted Hon. Chris Hipkins, Minister of Education, who echoed the previous government’s view on consent education: that is, it will not be made mandatory. A common argument against mandatory consent education is that it is up to the school and its community, not the government, to implement it. This results in unsatisfactory sex education and unacceptable behaviour. If consent education was made mandatory, this problem would be erased. In an interview with Tim Macindoe, he expressed that he, as a father, would want consent education to be taught in school, and that the edict needs to be “dictated by the Ministry of Education, because how else could you require schools to do that [teach consent]?” It is important for the school and its community to have a say, but that say has been thus far inadequate, with fewer than half of schools actively teaching consent. Mandatory consent education will not completely erase rape culture and its effects. Only a cultural shift — one where we teach boys respect and girls to use their voices — will be able to make a dent in the issue. However, it is imperative that every effort be made against this institution that has plagued New Zealand for far too long. Maybe, New Zealand can finally learn that “no” means “no”.