Consent, online pornography and gender stereotyping part of new proposals in sex education syllabus

Minister for Education Norma Foley has described a proposed revamp of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) for the Junior Cycle as “a step in the right direction” and as the catalyst to empowering students to cope with life in the 21st century.

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) on Monday launched a public consultation on the draft Social, Personal and Health Education curriculum which is due to be implemented in schools from 2023.

It follows a review of sex education in 2019 which concluded that most students’ experience of sex education to date could be summed up as being “too little, too late and too biological”.

It recommended taking into account issues such as consent; the effects of pornography on sexual expectations and relationships; and LGBT matters.

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Minister for Education Norma Foley said the new draft curriculum is based on research, evidence and engagement with students and other stakeholders. The consultation is open to all for 12 weeks.

Ms Foley said the current syllabus was 20 years old and children now lived in a different world.

A draft review of RSE will be published today as part of the consultative process. It will cover consent, gender stereotyping, wellbeing, relationships, online pornography and the sharing of sexual images. It was important that students be given the tools to help them cope with “this complex world”, she added.

The recent “zero tolerance” strategy to tackle domestic, sexual and gender-based violence had highlighted the importance of education and the Minister hoped that this draft would address that need and encourage students to “call out” inappropriate behaviour when they saw it.

When asked how pornography would be addressed in the draft, Ms Foley said a key feature was the safe use of the internet and the potential impact on relationships of the sharing of sexual images online.

All issues covered by the revised RSE syllabus would be delivered in a safe environment to ensure that students were given the skills to cope with all aspects of real life.

Students needed to be aware of the importance of sharing personal information, the risks and consequences of sharing images online.

The Minister “fully acknowledged” that more work needed to be done in the area of gender identity, students needed to feel included and safe and the RSE programme had a role to play to provide a voice for students.

The review and consultation was an opportunity for all to become involved. This was an invitation to all to express views and experiences, said Ms Foley.

The draft curriculum covers topics ranging from bias, inequality or exclusion to development of emotional resilience and addiction.

In relation to relationships and sexuality, in particular, it includes topics like healthy, unhealthy and abusive relationships, human sexuality and gender identity, consent, the importance of safer sexual activity and the influence of digital media including pornography and the sharing of digital images online.

When schools return in September, Ms Foley said there will be a focus by the NCCA on engagement with school communities to ensure they all have the opportunity to have their voices heard, with the consultation continuing until the middle of October.

The publication of the draft curriculum was welcomed by Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) which it was essential in a society where “sexual violence remains a persistent and widespread threat to young people”.

Cliona Saidlear, executive director of RCNI, said research indicates that Irish adolescents are experiencing high levels of sexual harassment and that for girls, in particular, sexual harassment and violence is normalised, denied and minimised.

“The children who will benefit from this comprehensive new curriculum must be given the tools to address their own and others’ desires and demands appropriately against our misogynistic cultural backdrop,” she said.

Louise Crowley, professor of family law at UCC, who pioneered a bystander intervention programme to empower students to challenge the normalisation of sexual abuse, also welcomed the move and said secondary students are “starved” or appropriate education in this area.

However, Peadar Tóibín TD, leader of Aontú, said more should be done to limit access to pornography rather than educating young people about it.

He said the Government should provide an opt-in safe internet service for families that would allow homes to be “safe of the most violent material on the internet”.

While the updated curriculum is due to be ready for the junior cycle from 2023, senior cycle will have to wait until 2024 and a revamped syllabus is due at primary level in 2025.