Our children and young people deserve comprehensive best-practice relationships and sexuality education
The draft relationships and sexuality education framework, recently put forward for consultation by the Ministry of Education, substantially falls short of this best-practice goal.
Presbyterian Support Northern’s Shine Education and Training team, with leading expertise in family violence, has recently given feedback on the framework to the Ministry.
In summary:
The framework excludes trans, non-binary and gender diverse people, who have always been part of our human societies. Ignoring this has a negative impact on everyone.
Significantly, the framework removes the inclusion of Te Ao Māori, including references to tikanga, whakapapa, whanaungatanga, or Māori understandings of identity, wellbeing or connection.
It contains inadequate discussion about intersex characteristics, which are delivered far too late in the curriculum (14/15-years-old), although around 2% of the population has intersex sex characteristics.
The conversations about consent and bodily autonomy are inadequately scaffolded through learning levels, and sexual violence content is insufficient, preventing young people’s access and right to sexual violence prevention education.
There is limited reference to the range of online harms, for example, supporting young people with critical thinking around pornography, which often includes violent, racist, sexist and harmful themes. This is especially important when so many children and young people seek out their information online.
The framework lacks tools to recognise power and coercion, and how bullying often shows up through homophobia, transphobia, ableism and racism.
We are concerned that the new framework goes against the direction of Te Aorerekura: The National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence. This evidence-based 25-year strategy is focused on ending family and sexual violence in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is a significant omission to ignore this opportunity to align our young people’s education about relationships with this strategy.
Relationships and sexuality education are not just about health. It’s about safety, belonging, dignity and justice. Let’s give our young people the tools they deserve to understand, thrive and enjoy healthy relationships.