So, like, this thinktank is saying that schools need to have relationship violence prevention leaders, kinda like how they have mental health coordinators. Teachers are feeling super unprepared to deal with all the heavy stuff that comes with relationship violence, you know? The Youth Endowment Fund did a study and they’re all about teaching young teens in England and Wales about preventing relationship violence. They wanna cover emotional, physical, and sexual violence, psychological abuse, stalking, and harassment. Sounds intense, right?
Even though schools in England have had guidance on teaching relationships, sex, and health since 2020, there are still tons of students not getting the lowdown on what makes a healthy or unhealthy relationship, or how to get out of a bad one. The YEF is suggesting a trial run where secondary schools get some cash for a “violence against women and girls lead” to get training or support from outside peeps. They also wanna make sure relationship lessons are up to par.
The big boss at YEF, Jon Yates, is all about making sure teachers get on board with this whole thing. He’s like, “Yo, we need to show teachers why this stuff is important and that it’s happening to kids everywhere.” But apparently, schools are a bit scared to say they’re teaching this stuff. They don’t wanna freak out parents by letting them know they might have a problem with relationship violence. But like, it’s a real issue, man.
The YEF found out that almost a third of teachers teaching relationships, sex, and health classes never got any training. And over a quarter aren’t feeling too confident teaching kids how to bail from a toxic relationship. Almost half of them are struggling to explain what to do if kids see a sexual assault go down. It’s not looking too good, huh?
This chick, Lucy Emmerson, from the Sex Education Forum, did some research and found out that only half of young people think their relationships, sex, and health lessons are decent, even though the curriculum has gotten better. Some topics, like puberty and consent, are taught well. But others, like porn and power imbalances in relationships, are getting the short end of the stick. Parents are saying it’s different from what they learned back in the day — it was all about the technical stuff, not so much the emotional side of things.
The topics they wanna cover are all about spotting the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships, and knowing how to get help if you need it. This Emmerson chick says these skills are crucial for friendships and all kinds of relationships. But the real issue here is getting teachers trained up and invested in this whole shebang.
“To really nail those tough topics, teachers gotta be confident in the subject, ya know? They gotta be able to have open and high-quality discussions with students, not just throw facts at ’em,” Emmerson said. “Kids benefit a ton from learning how to listen, empathize, respect each other, and deal with their emotions. It’s not just about learning facts, it’s about learning how to act and react.”
So, it seems like schools need to step up their game when it comes to teaching relationship violence prevention. Hopefully, they can get the support and training they need to make this happen. Because, let’s be real, kids need to know how to navigate this stuff in a healthy way.