Events | 2009.11.24
Classroom drive to curb violence in relationships
Children aged five to 15 to get compulsory lessons in drive to tackle violence against women and girls
Classes in preventing violence in relationships are to become compulsory for children aged five to 15 within 18 months as part of an official drive to tackle violence against women and girls.
The move will be underpinned by a campaign next year targeting intimate teenage violence following research by the children\'s charity, NSPCC, which showed that a quarter of teenage girls suffer physical violence such as being slapped, punched or beaten by their boyfriends, and a third of those in a relationship suffer an unwanted sexual act.
The government\'s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls published today also promises funding for a 24-hour sexual violence helpline and the development of a separate dedicated stalking and harassment helpline "so emerging violence can be nipped in the bud".
But the strategy launched by the home secretary, Alan Johnson, says that ministers are still considering a package of measures proposed by chief constables, including the establishment of a domestic violence register to track the movements of serial perpetrators.
The home secretary confirmed yesterday that they are to pilot only one of the nine measures so far proposed by the Association of Chief Police Officers – the introduction of "go orders" to exclude the perpetrators of domestic violence from the family home for 28 days.
The cross-government review of the strategy to tackle violence against women and girls was initiated earlier this year by Jacqui Smith when she was home secretary. The consultation carried out this summer received more than 1,500 responses.
The introduction of compulsory lessons on preventing violence in relationships into the classroom follows research showing that only about half of young women and girls receive such lessons as part of their personal, social, health and economic education.
"There was a strong feeling from the consultation that all children should be taught about violence against women and girls at school, and that all schools, including faith schools and primary schools, should be involved."
One unnamed contributor to the consultation is quoted in the report saying that such classes should no longer be called sex education: "It\'s nothing to do with teaching them how to put a condom on. It\'s about teaching boys not to be violent and girls that being a sex object isn\'t the only way to be validated."
The classes will also focus on how to develop mutually respectful personal relationships and to make violence against women and girls unacceptable amongst young people.
Schools minister Vernon Coaker said that the lessons would be "age appropriate" so that what was taught to a five-year-old was not the same as to a 15-year-old. New teacher training measures would also ensure that school staff know how to deal with girls they identify as being affected by sexist, sexual or transphobic bullying.
The cross-government strategy is to be underpinned by an advertising campaign early next year aimed at tackling the pervasive attitude amongst some teenagers that violence in relationships is justified. The campaign will be aimed at ensuring young girls realise they do not have to tolerate any form of violence or controlling behaviour.
An officially commissioned review of the sexualisation of young people and the ubiquity of sexualised imagery in popular culture and how it shapes the body image of teenage girls, their self-esteem and understanding of gender is also to be published in the new year.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/nov/25/violence-prevention-classes
