Contos was sexually assaulted when she was 13, but it was not until two years later, when she received consent education for the first time, that she realised what had happened to her was considered sexual assault.
After hearing many stories from her friends about sexual assault, Contos asked her Instagram followers in February 2021 if they had been sexually assaulted by anyone who had attended boys’ schools in Sydney. A year on, the petition has garnered more than 44,000 signatures, and nearly 7,000 people have disclosed their personal experiences of sexual assault.Following her push, several Australian states instituted consent education programmes in their public schools, and a programme is on track to be mandated nationwide this year, following a six-yearly review of the national curriculum.
Australia’s acting education minister, Stuart Robert, said recent government research found there was not enough knowledge about sexual consent, especially among young people.
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