Consent education hits screens in fresh initiative
Teach Us Consent, the organisation founded by youth advocate Chanel Contos, has launched the Promoting Consent Initiative (PCI), which aims to teach young people about respectful relationships and prevent sexual harm.
Ms Contos, 26, founded the organisation four years ago after an Instagram post went viral and alerted her to the dire need for mandated consent education in Australian schools.
"Australia is really leading the way in terms of focusing on preventing sexual violence," she told AAP.
"There is an important message to be shared overseas about what is happening in Australia and what lessons can be learned for other countries."
The PCI has been funded by the Department of Social Services as part of the ten-year National Plan to End Gender Based Violence launched in 2022.
The initiative is the first of its kind in Australia to use social media to reach young people through users they know and trust.
More than 25 influential young Australians from footballers to beauty vloggers have signed up to demonstrate the importance of having vulnerable and open conversations about consent.
"We wanted to make sure that young people were hearing this messaging online from people they already knew and trusted," Ms Contos said.
"It was really important that the people delivering these messages were peers and also role models."
The resources are available in a variety of formats including podcasts, TikToks, Instagram posts, essays and YouTube videos.
They have been translated into six languages other than English and specific resources for First Nations communities are also in development.
Parents and educators are being encouraged to use these resources to start conversations around respectful relationships with young people.
Child sexual abuse by adolescents aged under 18 has increased in recent years, with nearly one in five Australians experiencing sexual abuse by an adolescent before they turn 18.
The increased accessibility to pornography and the fact it was being used as sex education was contributing to these rates, Ms Contos said.
"In recent years what has changed the most is the influence of the manosphere and algorithms," she said.
"These challenges are rising quicker than we're making progress so we're going to need to be creative and innovative in terms of how we provide holistic educational resources to young people on these issues."
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
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Cancer Council ACT said, "data from the ACT General Health Survey tells us that around two-thirds of young people have tried vaping, but over one in three are either not taking it up, or have already quit". While vapes are still sold illegally by many Canberra shopfronts, including tobacconists, bottle shops, convenience stores, petrol stations and news agencies, their reputation among young people may be changing. "Vapes have a bad rep," Ben said. "There's a big stereotype on people who use vapes that you're weird or that you're childish." Generation Vape study lead author Associate Professor Becky Freeman said most young Australians have never used nicotine products. "We're increasingly hearing young people saying that they're embarrassed that they vape, they don't want to be vaping, and the realities of addiction are beginning to rear their heads," Dr Freeman said. Health authorities are concerned that e-cigarettes are a gateway to tobacco. Ben said people switch from vapes to cigarettes because they have to smoke them less frequently. A July 2025 Generation Vape report said fewer Australian teens, aged 14 to 17, were smoking. Only 6 per cent had tried a cigarette. Now Ben and his mates have ditched vapes in favour of nicotine pouches, also referred to as Zyns (a popular brand) or upperdeckies. They are similar to snus, but do not contain tobacco and come in flavours like cherry, mint, citrus, coffee and cola. "It was a lot better for me because there was no smoke involved, it was just nicotine," Ben said. "It's the cheaper and safest way." Cancer Council said 950 per cent more pouches were seized at the Australian border in 2023 than in the previous two years. "Nicotine pouches usually contain very high levels of nicotine. Alongside damage to the mouth, they are mostly linked to the symptoms of excessive nicotine use," Cancer Council ACT said. 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Concern is also growing about water safety in regional and multicultural communities, where awareness and experience around water is limited. In January 2024, Victoria witnessed its worst beach tragedy in nearly two decades when four international visitors drowned after being caught in a rip current. They were visiting Phillip Island for a family day trip and were part of a group of nine with relatives from India. "Multicultural communities are one key area of the water safety strategy. There's been a very concerted effort in terms of strategies across the country," Ms Pidgeon said. "We know that adults from some countries may have never had the opportunity to learn swimming and water safety skills." The data also highlighted that males were nearly four times as likely as females to drown, with alcohol consumption remaining a major factor, presenting in 23.9 per cent of drowning deaths. "Alcohol and swimming don't go well together in all bodies of water," Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Terry Slevin told AAP. "More effort is necessary to focus on blokes on alcohol, and those teenage high-risk groups." The study comes as researchers and advocates work to meet the Australian Water Safety Strategy goal of halving drowning deaths by 2030. Drowning rates have declined significantly over the past two decades though challenges persist among migrant and regional communities, a landmark study reveals. Analysis of unintentional drowning deaths between 2002 and 2022 shows a 60 per cent decrease in drowning deaths among children under the age of four, and a 24 per cent decline over the past 20 years overall. Every age group had lower deaths except between 15 and 17, according to data published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health on Tuesday. The findings reflect "great progress" in public health education and water safety, study co-author and Royal Life Saving Australia national manager of research and policy Stacey Pidgeon told AAP. But the work is far from over, she cautioned. Data from after the study's period shows a slight increase in drowning deaths over the past three years, with more people moving away from patrolled beaches to unsupervised inland locations. "We're starting to see more people get into difficulty that may not have the skills and ability to keep themselves safe," Ms Pidgeon said. Meanwhile, rivers and creeks were identified as leading locations for drowning, representing 26.3 per cent of fatal cases in the study. Concern is also growing about water safety in regional and multicultural communities, where awareness and experience around water is limited. In January 2024, Victoria witnessed its worst beach tragedy in nearly two decades when four international visitors drowned after being caught in a rip current. They were visiting Phillip Island for a family day trip and were part of a group of nine with relatives from India. "Multicultural communities are one key area of the water safety strategy. There's been a very concerted effort in terms of strategies across the country," Ms Pidgeon said. "We know that adults from some countries may have never had the opportunity to learn swimming and water safety skills." The data also highlighted that males were nearly four times as likely as females to drown, with alcohol consumption remaining a major factor, presenting in 23.9 per cent of drowning deaths. "Alcohol and swimming don't go well together in all bodies of water," Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Terry Slevin told AAP. "More effort is necessary to focus on blokes on alcohol, and those teenage high-risk groups." The study comes as researchers and advocates work to meet the Australian Water Safety Strategy goal of halving drowning deaths by 2030. Drowning rates have declined significantly over the past two decades though challenges persist among migrant and regional communities, a landmark study reveals. Analysis of unintentional drowning deaths between 2002 and 2022 shows a 60 per cent decrease in drowning deaths among children under the age of four, and a 24 per cent decline over the past 20 years overall. Every age group had lower deaths except between 15 and 17, according to data published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health on Tuesday. The findings reflect "great progress" in public health education and water safety, study co-author and Royal Life Saving Australia national manager of research and policy Stacey Pidgeon told AAP. But the work is far from over, she cautioned. 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There's been a very concerted effort in terms of strategies across the country," Ms Pidgeon said. "We know that adults from some countries may have never had the opportunity to learn swimming and water safety skills." The data also highlighted that males were nearly four times as likely as females to drown, with alcohol consumption remaining a major factor, presenting in 23.9 per cent of drowning deaths. "Alcohol and swimming don't go well together in all bodies of water," Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Terry Slevin told AAP. "More effort is necessary to focus on blokes on alcohol, and those teenage high-risk groups." The study comes as researchers and advocates work to meet the Australian Water Safety Strategy goal of halving drowning deaths by 2030.
Sydney Morning Herald
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- Sydney Morning Herald
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