The challenge
We live in times that are characterised by highly volatile gender politics, especially around issues of consent.
In Australia, there is increased public awareness around issues of sexual violence and consent in school aged children. This public climate has placed an increasing responsibility on schools to provide robust and comprehensive education about gender issues in relationships and consent.
Schools already play a critical role in shaping students’ understanding of respectful relationships, boundaries, and personal agency, both through the informal curriculum of everyday life in schools, and the formal curriculum related to Health and Relationships Education. Consent education is now mandated as part of specific curriculums and whole-school approaches. Victoria also has the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships learning resources which include a specific focus on gender norms and consent education for students at Levels 9 and 10.
Despite these positive developments, teaching about consent is challenging. Teachers report feeling ill-equipped to handle this sensitive content and express discomfort, particularly as social media and technology introduce new complexities to the discussion. Younger students, who are increasingly exposed to digital content, often present unique challenges for educators navigating these topics. Given this complexity, there is a need for research that provides more robust understanding of which approaches to consent education are working and how teachers can be best supported to generate meaningful and transformative education in this area.
There is a growing market for external providers to teach consent education, and the quality of such programs can vary significantly. Their impact is often short-lived if they are not effectively integrated into a school’s broader culture. Research indicates that standalone programs, while useful, are most effective when they are part of a comprehensive approach that includes integration into school policies, active involvement of teachers, and ongoing professional development. When consent education is woven into the fabric of a school’s ethos and practice, students are more likely to internalise and apply the concepts they are taught.
This pilot study seeks to evaluate Naked Truths, a consent education program delivered by the non-profit organisation Body Safety Australia (BSA). The Naked Truths program builds on students’ eSafety knowledge by exploring how they use the internet to enact relationships and curiosity about sexual content. Students critically engage with personal values and identity and explore how to have consensual, respectful, and healthy relationships online and offline. The workshop gives students the opportunity to reflect on their network of safe adults, consider help-seeking behaviours, understand their rights regarding online sexual content, and foster empathy within their online and offline friendship groups.
The research will assess not only the program’s immediate impact but also its sustainability when integrated into schools through teacher involvement, professional development, and alignment with existing school policies. Through this evaluation, we aim to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on best practices in consent education, ensuring that future generations are equipped to engage in respectful, informed relationships.
Project overview
This research aims to provide critical insights into the effectiveness of the Naked Truths program, specifically its role in enhancing students’ understanding of power dynamics, affirmative consent, and respectful relationships both online and offline.
A qualitative case study design will be used, focusing on evaluating the implementation of the Naked Truths program with Grade 5/6 students at one primary school. The evaluation study will involve gathering data via online survey, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and document analysis. Data will be gathered from multiple stakeholders (students, parents, teachers, administrators, and external facilitators) to ensure a holistic understanding of the program’s impact and effectiveness.
The study’s research questions are:
- How is the program supporting students to critically engage with issues of power and privilege, affirmative consent and respectful relationships both online and offline?
- How is the program enabling school staff to support students in these areas?
- What factors and conditions in schools support the effective implementation of the program?
We anticipate that the study will reveal the extent to which students can engage with these complex topics and how the program supports their critical thinking in these areas. Furthermore, the research will examine how the program equips school staff to support students, both during and after its delivery, and identify key factors that contribute to its successful integration into school environments.
Outcomes
The findings are expected to offer a nuanced understanding of how external programs like Naked Truths can be optimised for long-term impact by being embedded within a school’s policies and practices. In particular, the research will explore how well the program is received by different students and how it addresses the diverse challenges that arise with younger students and the influence of social media. Additionally, the study is anticipated to highlight the importance of providing teachers with the training and resources they need to feel confident and competent in addressing sensitive issues around consent.
The primary benefit of this research will be the generation of evidence-based recommendations for improving consent education in schools. By understanding what factors contribute to the successful implementation of programs like Naked Truths, the research will offer valuable guidance to schools, educators, and policymakers on how to create more effective, sustainable consent education strategies.
Another important outcome is the potential to shape teacher training and professional development in the area of consent education. By identifying the areas in which teachers feel ill-equipped, this research can inform the design of professional development programs that build teachers’ capacity to address issues related to power, privilege, and relationships. In turn, this will lead to more confident educators and more impactful consent education, creating a safer and more informed school environment for students.
Collaborating organisation
Body Safety Australia