This petition was submitted during the 2017–2019 Conservative government
Rejected petition Make consent a mandatory part of sex education from start of secondary school.
1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys are victims of child sexual abuse.
If rape and sexual consent were to become a part of sex education, children would learn from an early age the importance of consent and the consequences of rape
More details
The effects of child sexual abuse can be long-lasting and affect the victim's mental health.
About 4 times more likely to develop symptoms of drug abuse
About 4 times more likely to experience PTSD as adults
About 3 times more likely to experience a major depressive episode as adults
Evidence:
RAINN
Rape Crisis
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
We understand you're concerned about teaching about consent in sex education in secondary schools, but the Government has already published draft statutory guidance about what should be taught, including sexual consent. So we're not sure exactly what else you like the Government or Parliament to do.
The Children and Social Work Act 2017 requires relationships and sex education to be taught in all English schools from September 2020. Draft statutory guidance, published in February 2019, sets out what should be taught, including "the concepts and laws relating to sexual consent".
The House of Commons Library has published some information about what's changing in sex and relationships education. You can find out more here:
You can read the draft statutory guidance here:
You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.