Consent education teachers report training gaps in Australian survey

Consent education teachers in Australia often lack the training, time and support they say they need, according to a survey reported by researchers Jennifer Power and Lily Moor in The Conversation. The findings matter because young people are asking for more practical guidance on consent, relationships and sex while schools are being asked to play a larger role in preventing sexual and gender-based violence.

Power and Moor said they surveyed 482 teachers from government, Catholic and independent schools who deliver relationships and sexuality education. More than two-thirds, about 67%, said they had received no university classes on how to teach the subject, and 77% said their university preparation left them poorly equipped.

Training after teachers entered the workforce was also uneven. The researchers said 43% still wanted further training, while 50% reported that their school did not provide enough time or money for professional development in relationships and sexuality education. Less than half, 39%, said they had enough time to plan lessons.

Why are teachers struggling with consent education?

The survey found that teachers generally supported relationships and sexuality education but often lacked practical resources. According to Power and Moor, 72% said school leaders valued the subject, 60% said parents were supportive and 65% said students generally felt comfortable taking part.

That backing did not remove teachers’ concerns. Around 60% worried about negative responses from parents, saying the wrong thing in class or handling disclosures from students about sexual violence, the researchers said. Many also felt uncomfortable teaching sensitive topics such as pornography, abortion and sexual violence.

Teachers who had dedicated in-service training, enough preparation time and support from school administration reported greater comfort teaching the material, according to the survey. Power and Moor said those findings point to training and school backing as key conditions for effective lessons.

What is relationships and sexuality education?

Relationships and sexuality education is broader than older biology-focused sex education. It covers sexual and reproductive health, consent, respectful relationships, sexuality, gender and the skills young people need to communicate needs and boundaries.

Power and Moor said young people have reported across multiple studies that they want education that reflects their real lives. That includes the emotional parts of relationships, communication with partners, practical information about sex, critical discussion of pornography and teaching that includes diversity in gender, sexuality and bodies.

The researchers also cited recent Australian research finding concerning rates of unwanted, forced or coerced sex and intimate partner violence among young people, including adolescents as young as 14. They said social media, including content from misogynistic influencers, has contributed to fast-changing norms around gender, sex and relationships.

How does Australia treat consent education?

Mandatory consent education was introduced in Australia in 2023 after Chanel Contos’ Teach Us Consent campaign drew national attention to young women’s experiences of sexual violence, Power and Moor said. Federal, state and territory governments had committed in 2022 to making consent and respectful relationships education part of national efforts to address sexual and gender-based violence.

Schools are central to that effort because they reach almost all young people, the researchers said. They argued that effective teaching should go beyond legal definitions of consent or safer-sex basics and should help address misogynist and harmful attitudes within school communities.

Power and Moor said teachers need dedicated professional training, evidence-based curriculum resources and chances to work with other staff, including adolescent health nurses, wellbeing teams and specialist educators. They also called for a whole-school approach in which leaders are involved and staff have some capacity to respond to issues involving consent, respectful relationships and sexual wellbeing.

This story draws on original reporting from Phys.org.