This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Ensure that sexual coercion is made a mandatory topic in sex education
Proposed changes to the UK's Relationships, Sex and Health Education programme are fantastic but there needs to be greater clarity regarding teaching young people how to recognise signs of sexual coercion. "No" means no, but so does "I'm not sure". Young people must be taught this in sex education.
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Between March 2016-17, it was estimated that 20% of women and 4% of men had experienced sexual assault since the age of 16. With firm education, this statistic could be lower. There should be zero ambiguity when it comes to consent, and young people must be made aware of this to protect themselves. Persuasion is coercion, and young people must be taught to recognise this. Lone acts of sexual coercion may last minutes but the effects on the victim can last a lifetime.
This petition was rejected
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Consent is already a key part of relationships and sex education. You can find out more here:
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