XPost: bc.politics, can.politics   
   From: Panca@nyet.ca   
      
   On 11/16/2014 6:48 PM, Alan Baker wrote:   
   > On 2014-11-17 01:05:26 +0000, (ಠ_ಠ) said:   
   >   
   >> 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.   
   >   
   > Just blame all men...   
   >   
   > ...you accurate sexist.   
   >   
   > :-)   
   >   
   >> ______________________________________________   
   >> 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)