Education Minister Michelle McIlveen has defended the current teaching of relationships and sexuality education (RSE) in Northern Ireland's schools, saying "considerable work has been done over many years to ensure that resources are in place".
The DUP minister faced criticism from some MLAs during Education Question Time in the Assembly on Tuesday.
While RSE is already mandatory in schools here, there is a minimum content order, some schools can work within their ethos as to what exactly is taught.
SDLP East Derry MLA Cara Hunter called for consent to be included in RSE, claiming that for many young people, "the first time they hear of or learn about sexual consent is at university".
Minister McIlveen replied: "I am of the view that the topic is very much taught in schools at various levels. If she refers to the Education (Curriculum Minimum Content) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007, she will see that that is part of the minimum content in our schools. Boards of governors and school leadership have signed up to that. Therefore, consent is part of the curriculum and part of the post primary curriculum."
Ms Hunter said afterwards: “I have been raising issues around the totally unfit RSE in our schools for some time and I was extremely disappointed by DUP Minister McIlveen’s dismissive response when I challenged her on the lack of provision for educating our young people about consent in schools.
“Despite the Minister’s claim that consent was covered in the 2007 order it is not mentioned even once.
“The fact that this order is from 2007 says it all – it is entirely unfit for purpose and badly outdated in 2022. We need RSE that reflects the society we live in today and I think everyone would admit the way we view relationships has changed considerably since this order was published.
“If we are ever going to properly tackle the issues around men’s attitudes to women and girls then we need to begin by educating them about these issues as young as possible.
“We cannot expect outside groups to carry the can on this, the Department of Education needs to take responsibility and ensure that our young people are educated about these issues while at school.
Ms Hunter added: “We have heard much discussion recently about how we can change the misogynistic attitudes that are sadly still so prevalent in our society. By teaching young people about consent and healthy relationships we will equip them with the tools to build positive relationships with the women in their lives.
“The more young people we get this message to the more likely men and boys will be to think before engaging in harmful behaviours and to challenge their peers when they are in the wrong.”
Last March, an expert advisory panel on a gender equality strategy concluded that RSE in schools in Northern Ireland is "inconsistent and insufficient".
The panel, appointed by Stormont's Department for Communities also said age-appropriate RSE should be compulsory in schools and "inclusive of the experiences of all young people".
A separate panel on a sexual orientation strategy also recommended that RSE should not be "dependent on school ethos".
Ms McIlveen told MLAs that while "considerable work has been done over many years to ensure that resources are in place in schools," she accepts that "work needs to be done in order to give teachers the confidence and support that they need to teach this (RSE)".
She added: "A considerable amount of work is being done by my Department, alongside its partners, to assist schools in the delivery of RSE."
Meanwhile, officials from the Department of Education (DE) are involved in a educational awareness working group with colleagues in the Department of Justice to implement the Gillen review recommendation on school sexual offences.
One of Sir John Gillen's key recommendations was for sex and relationship education for schoolchildren from primary one.
Green Party MLA for North Down Rachel Woods said the education system was "failing to tackle harmful beliefs and behaviours", adding that "there is a lack of knowledge of what a healthy relationship looks like."
Ms Woods told Belfast Live : “Our education system should drive forward the changes we need to build a society based on respect, consent and what a healthy relationship looks like.
“Young people are receiving confusing messages about what constitutes healthy relationships – can see it with the prevalence of misogyny and domestic and sexual violence in Northern Ireland, the lack of RSE in schools, and young people accessing online porn.
“Our young people are telling us that RSE isn’t sufficient. We know that current RSE provision is not enough, young people have told us that they do not find it useful, and in some cases, are not taught RSE at all,” she added.
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