The Federal Government, along with some State/Territory governments, have allocated millions of dollars towards addressing Australia's sexual assault crisis.
A significant part of this is its investment in 'Respectful Relationships' and 'Consent' programs, as well as changes recently made to the Australian Curriculum.
New groups have emerged in recent times, offering programs in a variety of schools - including Catholic schools - to educate students on sexuality, respect and consent. However some of the key groups gaining entry into schools do not share or uphold the teachings of faith-based schools. In fact, their material undermines it.
The documented available to download below provides evidence of some of the materials posted online by three groups:
It is clear from some of this material and details of the facilitators they engage that these groups will not enhance respect and consent efforts, in fact will undermine these efforts. A key reason for this is they do not come to the issue with a porn critical lens or framework. Evidence demonstrates that these groups actively promote the sex industry, for example.
It is more imperative than ever that school leaders carry out due diligence to ensure groups purporting to provide respect and consent education are consistent with the beliefs, values and ethos of their school community.
Warning - the material in the link below is graphic in nature and discretion is advised.
Download - Social Media Posts by Providers