XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, man.politics   
   From: Panca@nyet.ca   
      
   Target the group/sex that does the assaulting; stop teaching the victims how to   
   defend or run away.   
   Go to the source of the problem - not the victims of it.   
   ______________________________________________   
   The Canadian Press - Sunday, November 16, 2014   
      
      
   Teaching consent at young age could help prevent sex assaults: experts   
      
   TORONTO -- Sexual assault allegations against former CBC Radio host Jian   
   Ghomeshi have sparked a national conversation about how to facilitate the   
   reporting of such incidents, but some advocates say the focus should instead be   
   on prevention.   
      
   A key to stopping sexual assaults from happening in the first place is   
   education about the legal landscape, says Kim Stanton of the Women's Legal   
   Education and Action Fund.   
      
   "It's so important to educate young people on the law of consent and the fact   
   that consent is something that has to be renewed at every stage, it can't just   
   be assumed," she says.   
      
   Ghomeshi was fired after the CBC said it saw "graphic evidence" that he had   
   caused injury to a woman.   
      
   In all, nine women have come forward with allegations, some dating back a   
   decade, that Ghomeshi sexually or physically assaulted them and police are   
   investigating complaints by at least three of them.   
      
   Ghomeshi has filed a lawsuit against the CBC alleging defamation and breach of   
   confidence. He has argued in a Facebook posting that he engaged in "rough sex"   
   with women, but said it was always consensual.   
      
   Stanton says it is very important that sex ed for younger people includes a   
   discussion of consent.   
      
   "I'm not sure that that message is one that all school kids in Canada are   
   exposed to in a healthy way."   
      
   In Ontario, the government has announced it will reintroduce an updated   
   sex-education curriculum for schools that it withdrew in 2010 because of   
   objections from some religious leaders.   
      
   The reintroduced sex-ed curriculum will teach kids about homosexuality and   
   same-sex marriages in Grade 3, encourage discussions about puberty, including   
   masturbation, in Grade 6, and talk about preventing sexually-transmitted   
   diseases in Grade 7, which could include information on oral and anal sex.   
      
   Education Minister Liz Sandals says it will also "explicitly" deal with the   
   issue of consent.   
      
   "We need to have young people understanding what a healthy relationship looks   
   like, because if you look at the video games and rock videos and things that   
   they consume, those are not portrayals of healthy relationships," she says.   
      
   "I feel very strongly that we need to put the consent material in there."   
      
   The government is consulting with parents and is considering research from   
   earlier consultations and focus groups with students, teachers and others as it   
   finalizes the new sex-ed curriculum.   
      
   Chris Markham, the executive director and CEO of an organization promoting   
   health education, says he hopes the issue of consent is indeed incorporated in   
   the new curriculum.   
      
   "I think it would be appropriate to introduce the concepts as early as   
   possible, as they are learning about their bodies, as they are learning about   
   how they interact with each other, I think probably the earlier the better,"   
   Markham says.   
      
   Sex-ed curricula introduce different concepts to children at different times,   
   from learning to identify body parts to sexually transmitted diseases.   
   Discussions of consent should underlie every stage of sex education, Markham   
   says.   
      
   If Ontario's proposed curriculum is implemented it would bring it in line with   
   other provinces', he says.   
      
   Cristina Stasia is part of Accessing Information not Myths, an Edmonton-based   
   group pushing to get consent taught in the sex-ed curriculum in school boards   
   across Alberta. She said it's unrealistic to expect people to successfully   
   negotiate the thorny issue when they become sexually active, without a proper   
   fact basis.   
      
   "We need to teach what consent means," said the gender studies professor at the   
   University of Alberta. "This is information that kids need to know, just like   
   they need to know in driver's ed what a red light means."   
      
   Deborah Roffman, an American human sexuality teacher who has written several   
   parenting books on how to talk to children about sex, says she has always   
   incorporated the topic of consent into her classes. She teaches kids that that   
   absence of "no" does not equal consent, she says.   
      
   "The concept is respect for people's boundaries," Roffman says. "That's a   
   concept we teach with very young children."   
      
   In the U.S., there has also been an ongoing conversation about consent,   
   stemming in part from a high school football rape case, Roffman says. Two   
   athletes were ultimately convicted in a high-profile case involving a   
   16-year-old girl, but the case drew attention in part because of allegations   
   that authorities were covering up the actions of the athletes.   
      
   The focus of the ensuing conversations, Roffman says, has all too often been on   
   how to protect one's self from sexual violence.   
      
   "But why is there not more emphasis on talking to young men if we are talking   
   about prevention?" she says. "Why is the emphasis on the victim or the   
   survivor?"   
      
   Young children can be taught the concept that "not everything in the world is   
   available to you," right up to informed and ongoing consent, meaning that just   
   because someone allows a kiss once doesn't mean they will again or will allow   
   further activity, in the higher grades, Roffman says.   
      
   "When we postpone, put off these conversations, even the beginning   
   conversations with young chidlren in schools, what we are essentially saying to   
   them is adults are not available to you around these issues, and that's the   
   worst of all possible messages," she says.   
   ______________________________________   
      
   PS:  Any charges laid against Ghomeshi yet?  I was busy doing some late garden   
   cleanup/candidate volunteer work for the last couple of days.   
      
   ヽ(´ー｀)ﾉ   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)