Comments on the Respectful Relationship Education Y7-10 & Y11-12

Recently concerned educators and parents have come forward to alert us about the content of the RRE document Y11-12. The document contains sensitive material about sexuality, violent behaviours and porn.

https://publicdocumentcentre.education.tas.gov.au/library/Shared%20Documents/Respectful-Relationships-Education-Teaching-and-Learning-Resources-Y11-12.pdf

The teaching strategies put forward in this booklet rely on role play, personal discussion and the hearing/reading of true stories about sexual abuse.

One teacher wrote: “During these role plays students are left on their own with no oversight or guidance regarding discussions, outcomes  or definitions. As an example on pages 35 and 36 The students are asked to arrange themselves in groups and given an scenario 

“Extend the activity by asking students to role-play the discussion that could take place between Max and Sam as they decide whether they both want to have sex. Ask volunteers to swap roles to demonstrate different  courses of action for each character.” 

With a trauma informed practice guiding teachers currently, how will teachers navigate  this content and implement safeguarding and trauma informed strategies like  ‘interrupting’ or ‘trigger warnings’ and ‘follow ups’ when the students break into small  groups and we as teachers are not physically present to oversee each small group  conversation?  

I believe these types of activities are unethical and undermine safeguarding”. 

Another section at the back of this booklet is a handout called ‘Draw the Line Scenario’, where strangulation during sex is mentioned.

How can teachers navigate this type of scenario and discussions in an ethical manner while at the same time safeguarding children. How can teachers know if any of these students were victims of sexual assault and find themself reliving the trauma, how about children from minority backgrounds or religions?

Apparently, it’s not only the RRE Y11-12 that contains sensitive material but also some other troublesome examples can be found in the RRE Y7-10, page 74, where students are provided a link to a website called ‘The Line’ which contains some articles such as “How much do you know about porn” and “Sex miseducation: Is porn bad for you?. 

Embedded in the booklet we can also find source activity 2 : Checking in relay – Love, Sex and Relationships. Which enables students to practice dialogue during sex, in first person role play activities, that are set up as a ‘waiter offering food choices’ or in a relay race.

https://publicdocumentcentre.education.tas.gov.au/library/Shared%20Documents/Respectful-Relationships-Education-Teaching-and-Learning-Resources-Y7-10.PDF

Comments from a parent: “Why does the Tasmania Education department entangle this goal with grooming our kids sexually, with access to information that is not appropriate for 14 year olds”.

It is a well documented fact that children do not fully mature their prefrontal cortex, which is in charge of impulse control, until they reach 25 years of age.  An early exposure to porn can decrease gray matter in the prefrontal cortex, decreasing decision making and self control, which could lead to addictive porn use.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/prefrontal-cortex

It is also worth noting that the Australian Government Australian Institute of Family Studies presented a report on The Effects of Pornography on Children and Young People. Some of the findings are “Pornography may strengthen attitudes supportive of sexual violence and violence against women” and “Pornography use can shape sexual practices and is associated with unsafe sexual health practices such as not using condoms and unsafe anal and vaginal sex.

https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-reports/effects-pornography-children-and-young-people

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10015350

While is commendable that Tasmania Department of Education for Children and Young People is trying to combat domestic violence and sexual assault amongst our youth, it seems to have miss the mark, and by doing so put teachers and students in a untenable position.

by Dr. Elizabeth Caballero (retired GP)