The Australian Education Union has welcomed Federal Labor's commitment to invest $77m for teaching consent education in Australian schools on International Women's Day.
Labor's plan, which will provide professional development and training for teachers across Australia to talk about sexual consent and respectful relationships in an age-appropriate way and enable students experiencing violence to seek help, has been described as a meaningful commitment towards violence prevention by AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe.
"The sad reality is that women and girls are still enduring harassment and sexual violence in Australia, whether it is in their homes, schools or workplaces," said Ms Haythorpe.
"The first step towards making these spaces safer for women and girls starts with educating students about consent early.
"We welcome the commitment for additional support for teachers to deliver consent education and to equip them to assist students who need help.
"The conversation around consent education led in the past year by Chanel Contos has shone a light on the critical role schools play in preventing sexual harassment and violence in the community.
"Schools should be safe places for students to seek information and assistance and it's crucial that we have a Federal Government committed to ensuring that is the case.
"The AEU is calling on all parties to follow suit and support teachers to deliver evidence-based and age-appropriate consent and respectful relationships education."
