CONSENT education will be mandatory in all Australian schools, for foundation to year 10 students, following a unanimous decision from the state and federal governments.
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The decision has been widely praised, but some say it's only scratching the surface and more needs to be done around the issues of consent, sex and relationships, and there are unanswered questions about the implementation of the curriculum.
Centre for Non-Violence chief executive Margaret Augerinos said it was a great initiative and positive move.
Ms Augerinos said creating a safe space for young people to talk about consent is critical to addressing coercion, sexual violence, gender, and sexuality and how they impact experiences of sexual assault and family and domestic violence.
While the move was a good start, Ms Augerinos said there are "missing bits" and "consent is just part of the conversation."
She said there needs to be more discussion around sex positivity and how to engage in and express safe sexual behaviour and intimacy.
Young people also need to learn how to negotiate boundaries and rejection and disappointment in healthy ways.
"If young people understand consent, they understand sexual respect, they understand sexual agency and how to engage and explore sexuality in a safe way, then that helps people develop into really good adults," Ms Augerinos said.
Crusoe College principal Simon Wood said making consent education compulsory was positive and will be valued.
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He said teaching consent was a good start.
"(This is a) good opportunity for us to look at what we are doing, then match it against what the mandatory expectations will be and adjust if we need to," Mr Wood said.
Mr Wood said the challenge would be fitting it into an already crowded curriculum and he said, there are questions that need to be answered prior to the implementation of the subjects next year.
According to Mr Wood, curriculum develops over time and an implementation and review period is needed to evaluate what is being taught.
"I think the important thing to keep in mind through any implementation is that we do look at it really closely and make sure, like I've said that they are meeting the needs of our students, but they're very supportive of this," he said.
If you or someone you know needs support, contact Centre Against Sexual Assault - Central Victoria on 5441 0430 or the Sexual Assault Crisis Line on 1800 806 292.
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