‘A lot of students are coming to us already scarred’: Why Irish sex education needs a reboot

All too often, issues like consent and sexual violence are neglected on the curriculums of Irish schools, resulting in pupils being woefully uninformed on key issues. But moves are now finally afoot to change all that

Relationships and Sexuality Education in schools: ‘We need a more inclusive curriculum, and one that teaches teenagers not only about sex, but also about healthy relationships and how to spot signs of abuse’. Picture: Getty

Professor Louise Crowley will never forget the college student who came to speak to her after a class discussion on sexual consent. The young woman had been sexually assaulted at her debs and, for months, had kept it a secret. It was only a few weeks into a training programme on “bystander intervention” that she began to feel able to talk about the ordeal.

Crowley had developed the classes as a way of encouraging students ...