Wellbeing Report
Respectful Relationships
Recent world events, and media reporting of these, have led to a focus on what we as a society need to do to equip our youth in regard to having and maintaining respectful relationships. A recent petition, instigated by a former schoolgirl from Sydney, calls for young women to come forward if they have been subjected to sexual assault whilst still at school. It has since gone viral with thousands of young women signing the petition or sharing their stories which are often graphic, disturbing and upsetting.
Schools and families need to work together to create a culture where all people treat others with respect and dignity at all times, and particularly in romantic relationships. Current media coverage gives us all opportunities to start the conversation with our youth around how we should treat others, and the way in which we in turn should expect to be treated.
The latest special of SchoolTV is responding to this current issue, and provides some good tips around having these conversations. These include having conversations around:
- What is consent? What does it mean? Don’t expect that they know.
- Healthy boundaries around respectful relationships
Relationships are a natural part of social growth and development, and so it is vital that the lines of communication between parent and child is open and honest, so that you can help them to know how to show respect to others, and ensure that they are also shown this same respect by others. It is important that parents or carers not assume that your teenager knows or understands what consent means and the implications surrounding it. It is important for them to learn about boundaries to enable them to respect themselves and their partners.This Special Report offers parents guidance around normalising the topic of consent to ensure your teenager experiences healthy and respectful relationships. Here is the link to your special report:
https://nazareth.vic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-conversation-consent
Our extended pastoral program in Term 3 will also focus on important aspects of maintaining positive and respectful relationships.
Ms Jackie Kol
Director of Wellbeing