How to Empower Educators to Prevent Sexual Violence

Preventative measures against sexual violence are gaining mainstream understanding and government support. This is largely due to the growing body of evidence showing consent and respectful relationships education (CRRE) is proven to help prevent harmful behaviours that could lead to sexual violence later in life.

In recent years, there have been various moves by our state and federal governments to act on the evidence and put appropriate plans and investments in place to support the education sector in playing a proactive role in the national goal to eradicate sexual violence. This includes mandating CRRE in the school curriculum for Years K-10 and, more recently, the Victorian Government’s Family Violence Reform Rolling Action Plan 2025-2027, which specifically called out the need for a whole of society approach.

Most educators are aware that a whole of society approach to eradicating sexual violence should involve the education sector, and that CRRE is a critical part of the solution. However, with ongoing teacher shortages and the industry experiencing heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and unsustainable workloads, there is a clear challenge with how educators can effectively deliver preventative programs without burning out.

Educator Wellbeing is Critical to Eradicating Sexual Violence
My team regularly hears from educators across the country that their students are demanding CRRE, teachers want to deliver CRRE and recognise its benefits, but they simply don’t have the capacity to do it justice. Teachers are already under immense pressure to deliver their existing workloads, and without adequate training on how to deliver CRRE as well, they are rarely equipped to both teach students about consent and respect as well as answer important questions as they arise.

Without first addressing the shortage of educators across the sector and the growing pressures on educators in their day-to-day jobs, we cannot expect teachers to effectively deliver CRRE in an evidence-based manner, consistently, and with a structured approach each year that consecutively builds from the previous year’s teachings.

Unfortunately, the reality is this problem cannot be solved overnight. As the sector continues to collaborate with government to attract and keep more educators in the industry, there needs to simultaneously be effective collaboration with third party experts. Schools need an evidence-based approach to help embed CRRE into their curriculums in a constructive and effective manner, rather than treating it as a tick-box exercise. When the latter approach is taken, we risk delivering education and resources that could have little and, in some cases, even a negative impact on young people’s understanding of consent and respect.

Establishing Best Practice and Listening to Experts
A National Code was recently passed in the higher education sector that will set standards to ensure all university settings are deemed safe, focusing on addressing sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender-based violence with evidence-based steps. This includes education and training for students and staff, which will require universities to collaborate with third party experts and start practicing a whole of institution approach to implementing preventative measures that experts have repeatedly highlighted to be critical to eradicating sexual violence in our society.

The National Code is a proof point of how the government can create meaningful, evidence-based policies that can drive real change in the fight to eliminate sexual violence.

There is an opportunity now for the government to expand and deepen this impact by replicating a similar code that extends throughout the entire education sector. This would help primary and secondary education providers understand how to effectively embed CRRE, create safe spaces, and ensure that the responsibility doesn’t fall solely on educators, but is supported by a system that prioritises student safety at its core.

This clarification on standards, best practice, and time and resourcing requirements for effective CRRE have so far been lacking in schools. Just like fundamental subjects like maths, English and science, consent education needs to be recognised as critical to get right, not just done. Educators need clear guidance that goes beyond lesson plans. They need to be appropriately equipped to answer questions, create safe spaces for open and non-judgmental discussions, and proactively identify and address harmful behaviours as they arise.

Based on the conversations we’re having with teachers and principals, there is no shortage of ambition and goodwill in wanting to deliver evidence-based CRRE. The shortage is in long-term and consistent funding to deliver this with experienced third-party experts, and a lack of capacity and training to carry through key concepts and learnings from CRRE in day-to-day activities. It’s time our governments and sector leaders started to expand the focus of preventing sexual violence from what teachers should do, to how they can be empowered to do it.