The solutions to tackling gender-based violence are clear: why is there still a barrier to adopting comprehensive Relationships and Sexuality Education to tackle the issue?

When asked about our experience Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in school, most of us have a collective memory of unimaginative, uninformative and heteronormative education. Consent, violence and misogyny were certainly absent from any RSE I received, as was a whole-school approach in tackling the issues. Nevertheless, comprehensive education around sexual violence and abuse in schools could be used as a tool to address Gender-Based Violence (GBV).[1] In a region that has one of the highest rates of femicide in Europe, why are we so resistant to introducing more comprehensive Relationships and Sexuality Education in Northern Ireland? [2]

I raised this question last month in my address to the Education Committee on their mini-inquiry into RSE in schools, highlighting that over August and September this year, four women were murdered over a period of six weeks in the North.[3] In September, the women’s sector welcomed the long-awaited Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy. Before its arrival, this region was the only jurisdiction in the UK without a government-backed Strategy to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls. The new Strategy highlights the importance of comprehensive RSE as one tool in preventing GBV. The Strategy recommends that the Department of Education commits to:

 ‘Further developing, in collaboration with young people, the design of relationships and sex education which is accessible, inclusive and age and developmentally appropriate, in the context of changes to mandatory content.’[4]

 In his report into the law and procedures in serious sexual offences in Northern Ireland, Sir John Gillen recommended that the Department of Education reform the sex education curriculum to include:

‘consent, personal space, boundaries, appropriate behaviour, relationships, fears of homophobia and transphobia, gender identity and sexuality.’ [5]

Despite calls from leading experts on GBV that the Department should act, earlier this year a Departmental report on the outcome of the public consultation into RSE marked a backsliding in the provision of RSE in this region.[6] The report found that 73 per cent of respondents opposed age-appropriate, comprehensive and scientifically accurate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, covering prevention of early pregnancy and access to abortion.[7] A subsequent parental ‘opt-out’ scheme, allowed parents to remove their children from RSE classes when information around early pregnancy and access to abortion is discussed in the classroom. This move dampened hopes among community activists that comprehensive RSE will be introduced in the near future.

Although the opt-out scheme has posed challenges to the delivery of comprehensive RSE in recent months, problems have persisted for years. Schools face competing priorities when it comes to curriculum delivery. This includes time and resources for staff development, skilled teacher training and support. According to Brook, teachers must deal with complex concepts, difficult conversations and contested ideas. [8] Consequently, teachers are constantly mindful of their public sector equality duties and the overarching priority of safeguarding.[9]  Therefore, improving school and teacher capacity needs to be one of the first steps taken to ensuring the delivery of high quality, comprehensive RSE.

Another challenge lies in creating cultural shifts and dispelling widespread misinformation regarding the subject content of RSE. A major thread running through anti-RSE narratives, certainly one which has underpinned one DUP MLA’s Let Kids Be Kids Campaign, is the belief young people’s innocence needs to be protected.[10] The campaign cautioned that RSE is teaching four-year-olds about masturbation and gender identity. Among headlines shared in the campaign was one from the Daily Mail, which stated: ‘Fury over World Health Organisation’s Sex Education about early childhood masturbation and gender identities’ for under fours’.[11] There is currently no evidence to suggest that this is the case. Yet, these narratives overshadow the crucial role of RSE in teaching young people about healthy relationships, consent and how to spot the signs of abuse. Frustratingly, anti-RSE narratives continue to have a strong influence on our education system, particularly in faith-based schools, stalling progress towards comprehensive RSE.

For decades, there has been a long-standing exclusion of LGBTQIA+ identities from the RSE curriculum. The Department of Education has reported that only one in every five schools have educated the country’s young people of LGBTQIA+ issues.[12] If a young person does not have an affirming family, and does not have support in an affirming school, they may be at increased risk of low self-esteem, shame and self-loathing. A lack of peer-education can also increase hostility and abuse directed towards young LGBTQIA+ people who come out at school. This was illustrated in the Cara-Friend ‘Still Shouting’ Report (2017), which found that: 72% of LGBTQ+ youth experienced negative attitudes in school, 68% of LGBTQ+ youth had experienced bullying in school and 61% of LGB young people reported contemplating suicide.[13] Particularly concerning is the impact of abuse on LGBTQIA+ young women, who can face ‘dual discrimination’ in their experience of misogyny, homophobia and/or transphobia in school.

The Department of Education has a significant role to play. The historic influence of faith groups over education in this region can complicate the process of curriculum reform without their support. When consultations are made public, as the parental opt-out consultation report illuminated, faith-based groups can rally a significant amount of support to oppose the issue. While this may limit the agency of the Department, it does not eliminate its role; the Department can still ease capacity issues to make it easier for schools and teachers to teach high quality RSE. They could upskill specialist RSE teachers to deliver a comprehensive curriculum. They also have a duty to propose amendments to the outdated Minimum Content Order (2007) to ensure that the minimum curriculum covers basic concepts such as consent, sexual violence and abuse and LGBTQIA+ identities, that currently, in many cases, are being missed.

Only when we begin to overcome these challenges will comprehensive RSE be able to used as a much-needed tool to tackle GBV in this region.

If you want to find out more about HERe NI’s lobbying efforts for comprehensive, inclusive RSE you can contact: policy@hereni.org.

 Written by Sophie Nelson, HERe NI.

[1] Gillen (2019) [https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/justice/gillen-report-may-2019.pdf]

[2] Balfour (2024) [https://www.derryjournal.com/news/politics/council/joint-highest-rate-of-femicide-in-europe-derry-strabane-reps-call-for-progression-of-ni-domestic-violence-strategy-4501635]

[3] Dungan (2024) [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8memlgdrgo]

[4] The Executive Office (2024) [https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/execoffice/strategic-framework-evawg.pdf]

[5] Gillen (2019) [https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/justice/gillen-report-may-2019.pdf]

[6] Department of Education (2024) [https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/consultations/education/Consultation%20Response%20Report.pdf]

[7] Department of Education (2024) [https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/consultations/education/Consultation%20Response%20Report.pdf]

[8] Brook (2023) [https://www.brook.org.uk/blog/why-are-we-still-defending-rse-in-2023/]

[9] Brook (2023) [https://www.brook.org.uk/blog/why-are-we-still-defending-rse-in-2023/]

[10] https://gript.ie/let-kids-be-kids-mla-launches-campaign-against-harmful-new-rse-lessons-in-ni-schools/

[11] Maynes (2023) [https://gript.ie/let-kids-be-kids-mla-launches-campaign-against-harmful-new-rse-lessons-in-ni-schools/]

[12] Department of Education (2016)  [https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/education/School-Omnibus-Survey-2016.pdf]

[13] Cara-Friend (2017) [https://cara-friend.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Still-Shouting-2017.pdf]