Australian Catholic University theologians and safeguarding experts have designed a new suite of resources to support Catholic educators to plan and deliver evidence-based and theologically-informed respectful relationships education.
ACU’s School of Theology and the Institute for Child Protection Studies has launched a five-part video series for respectful relationships and consent education facilitators, together with a comprehensive pastoral guide to designing educational programs for respectful relationships and informed consent in Catholic schools.
Funded by the Victorian Catholic Education Authority in response to Catholic educator and parent concerns about the federal government mandate, the resources are the first of its kind in Australia to present consent and respectful relationships education with a Christian theology vision of the human person.
The resources also draw on the latest findings into child abuse and neglect by the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS), including the prevalence of peer-on-peer sexual abuse, and growing rates of online sexual exploitation.
Jesuit Catholic priest, theologian and registered psychologist Jamie Calder SJ, who led the theological contributions, said the Christian vision of the human person was fundamental to any discussions on consent education in the Catholic sector.
“Catholic schools are entrusted and called by the Holy Spirit to create communities in which relationships are respectful, safe, inclusive, and so deeply humanising,” Associate Professor Calder said.
“Consent education then is not just another safeguarding requirement or an add-on to the curriculum, but a clear way of participating in the humanising mission of the Catholic Church to become human together to invite peoples into ever deeper union God, themselves and each other.”
The federal Government made consent and respectful relationships education mandatory in all schools, including Catholic schools, from the start of 2023.
The peak bodies for Catholic schools in all Australia states and territories have developed programs for consent and respectful relationships education or use approved platforms designed for faith-based institutions.
Associate Professor Calder said ACU created the new resources to equip Catholic educators to teach consent and respectful relationships education with confidence.
Professor Daryl Higgins, director of the Institute for Child Protection Studies and chief investigator on the ACMS, said comprehensive, evidence-informed consent and respectful relationships education is an important component of a broader, whole-school approach to preventing sexual harm.
The resources can be accessed on ACU’s Safeguarding Children and Young People Portal.
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ACU launches new resources for teaching respectful relationships education in Catholic schools (ACU)
