Fight rape culture with consent culture

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Published on Thursday, 28 April 2016 08:30

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Cette pétition prend de l'ampleur sur Change.org, souhaitez-vous la signer? Elle demande que les cours d'éducation sexuelle dans les écoles de l'Alberta enseignent aux jeunes les concepts de consentement et d'agression sexuelle.

Petitioning Government of Alberta, Hon., Honourable Lori Sigurdson, Honorable David Eggen, Honorable Rachel Notley, Honorable Sarah Hoffman

Reform Alberta's Sexual Education Curriculum to Encompass Consent and Sexual Assault

Petition by Natasha Kornak Calgary, Canada 296 Supporters Sign Natasha's petition

I graduated from high school in Alberta in 2015. I completed the Career and Life Management 20 (CALM) course in grade 10. As a part of CALM, we received a lesson in sexual education from an educator from a local sexual health resource centre. I remember learning about how to prevent pregnancy and contracting STIs but don't remember learning too much about consent, different types of abuse and what to do when one has experienced sexual assault.

This past year was my first at Queen's University. I'd heard news stories about the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses in North America, but I never figured me or anyone I knew would experience it. Then I learned that one of my closest friends at Queen's had been assaulted during her first week of university. Thankfully, some of our friends knew what to do in that event, which was to go to the hospital to access what is commonly referred to as a "rape kit" to collect DNA evidence as well as access emergency contraception and medications. The scary thing is I never learned what to do in the event that I or a friend experience sexual assault. The only reason I now know what to do in the event of assault is because my friend was raped, not because I learned it in my sexual education course.

Sexual assault can affect anyone at any time, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. According to Alberta's Minister of Education, Hon. David Eggen, the province is currently undergoing a curriculum redesign of the CALM course to focus it more on health and wellness. We need to speak up and let our legislators know that Alberta students deserve proper knowledge about consent, sexual abuse, and assault. As valuable as preventative measures can be, we need to know what to do when those preventative measures fail.

To address this critical issue, I ask that the Alberta government take the following measures. 1) Integrate information about sexual assault into Alberta's sexual health education classes. This means addressing what constitutes sexual assault, what to do in the event that an assault occurs (e.g., getting a sexual assault forensic evidence (SAFE) kit, also known as a "rape kit"), what the victim's options are (e.g., pressing charges/not pressing charges and other legal options), and where they can go to get follow-up medical and psychological assistance. 2) Ensure that schools convey this information to students starting in grade nine and continue to deliver it through grade 12. 3) Develop an explicit set of learning outcomes and a framework that can be consistently followed by all sexual health classes in Alberta. 4) Post-secondary education institutions in Alberta should mandate that all incoming students (including first-year students and transfer students) should undergo a mandatory discussion about consent, the reality of sexual assault, and the resources available to those who may experience sexual violence.

Sexual violence is a horrible reality that too many Canadian students will face. Our government has the power to make the new curriculum more informative and useful to all of Alberta's students. Tell Rachel Notley and Education Minister David Eggen that your sexual health education matters!

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