National Women’s Council reiterates call for SPHE curriculum to address gender-based violence
Published: Wednesday, August 28, 2024
NWC says SPHE must be a mandatory subject in order to tackle the root cause of gender-based violence
Violence against women is at epidemic levels in Ireland, with Women’s Aid receiving over 40,000 disclosures of domestic abuse in 2023. In the same year, the Gardaí received a domestic abuse call every 10 minutes and 52% of women will experience sexual violence in our lifetimes. While recent developments in legislation and policy are to be welcomed, the National Women’s Council says the root cause of violence against women – misogyny – must be tackled.
With the implementation of new SPHE curricula at secondary level, and a new curriculum for primary schools in the pipeline, it is very welcome to see the age-appropriate inclusion of topics like consent and mutual respect in our school system. The SPHE curricula has the potential to transform children and young people’s perceptions of gender and gender stereotypes and is a crucial opportunity to advance gender equality.
NWC’s Women’s Health Coordinator Doireann Crosson said
“In order to be as effective as possible, SPHE should be mandatory in primary and post-primary schools. Research shows that Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) leads to healthier relationships, improves self-esteem, and is crucial to preventing gender-based violence. Our national strategy on violence against women strongly recommends a reformed school curricula which can focus on issues like gender stereotypes, intimate partner abuse, and the harms of pornography. It’s also important that a whole school approach is taken, involving parents and the community, alongside students and school stakeholders. This creates a safe and inclusive environment for young people as they explore what they are learning.”
New graduates and existing teachers must be equipped with the training and resources necessary, including on issues of gender equality, to implement the new curricula properly. They must be able to respond to misinformation, and to be inclusive and culturally sensitive to the diversity of students they teach. NWC recommends that the number of graduate programmes be increased, and more opportunities for continuous professional development provided. We further recommend a robust mechanism for students, parents and the wider community to provide feedback on the new curricula's implementation.
Ms Crosson continued
“Young people in Ireland come from a huge range of backgrounds, from the Traveller community and migrant or refugee communities, to lone parent families, and different religions. Some have a specific set of learning needs, such as disabled children or LGBTQI+ young people, and there must be a strong emphasis on responding to this in the teaching of the curriculum. Training and resourcing teachers is absolutely crucial to achieve this.”
NWC has played an active role in the development of the new curricula, by submitting to each consultation and worked with researchers in DCU to develop two rapid evidence assessments on a whole school approach to RSE integration. Furthermore, NWC hosted a roundtable discussion in late 2023 which brought together key stakeholders, including the Department of Education, HSE, National Council for Curriculum Assessment, DCU and civil society groups representing Travellers, Roma, LGBTQI+ individuals, and young people. NWC has today launched a summary report of this roundtable event which had a particular focus on the need for a gender-dimension in the design and implementation of the SPHE curricula. The report includes several recommendations for the effective implementation of the curriculum in preventing gender-based violence and advancing gender equality.
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For comment: Doireann Crosson
Find here the summary report: https://www.nwci.ie/images/uploads/NWC_Summary_Report_of_a_Roundtable_Discussion_on_SPHE.pdf
Find here NWC’s submissions to this process: https://www.nwci.ie/discover/what_we_do/nwc_campaign_for_sphe
For more information, please contact Sinéad Nolan, NWC Communications and Social Media Coordinator on sineadn@nwci.ie
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About NWC
The National Women’s Council is the leading national representative organisation for women and women’s groups in Ireland, founded in 1973. We have over 190 member groups and a large and growing community of individual supporters.
The ambition of the National Women’s Council is an Ireland where every woman enjoys true equality and no woman is left behind. This ambition shapes and informs our work, and, with our living values, how we work.
We are a movement-building organisation rooted in our membership, working on the whole island of Ireland. We are also part of the international movement to protect and advance women’s and girls’ rights. Our purpose is to lead action for the achievement of women’s and girls’ equality through mobilising, influencing, and building solidarity. Find out more on www.nwci.ie