Chanel Contos, Deanne Carson, and the 'Push for "holistic" Sex Ed' - SBS THE FEED

In an article written by Eden Gillespie for THE FEED, CEO of Body Safety Australia, Deanne Carson, and founder of Teach Us Consent, Chanel Contos, discuss the need for more consistently delivered relationships and sex education in Australia.

Since launching her petition for ‘Consent to be Included in Australian Schools’ Sex Education Earlier’ in February, Chanel has received over 40,000 signatures and 20,000 testimonials.

Finally it seems the Government is noticing, with Victoria making consent education mandatory and Parliament in NSW debating her proposed reforms after a separate petition by Chanel received 20,000 signatures.

This call to reform sexual education in Australian schools is not an entirely new notion for schools and educators, however according to a spokesperson from the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, the Australian curriculum “already includes age-appropriate content on respectful relationships and sex education for all students from Foundation to Year 10”.

Since 2015, we have been providing consent education and respectful relationships education to schools, educators and students on a daily basis, and our research has shown a substantial desire from students and teachers for external providers of sex education.

As Deanne and Chanel both point out in THE FEED’s article, relationships and sex education need to be delivered more consistently in Australia.

“A lot of schools are still just doing contraception and STI prevention and we need to be talking about relationships, power imbalances and how we can ensure when young people can have healthy, pleasurable relationships,” Deanne said.

While the topic of consent education is news for some, and reform to sex education in Australia may be on the horizon, Body Safety Australia will continue delivering thorough and data-led consent education and respectful relationships to schools and organisations across the country.

If your school or organisation would like to discuss consent education or sex education programs or enquire about our services in anyway, feel free to get in touch via

Body Safety Australia acknowledges and pays respect to the past and present Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual, and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.

Body Safety Australia is a child-safe organisation. We are committed to keeping children and young people safe by empowering the whole community in prevention education. We value and empower children and young people's voices in our programs and create a safe space that supports all persons to disclose. To read our full commitment to children, click here. If you have a Child Safety concern, click here.

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