My colleagueTrish Doyle MP, the Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, has called upon the Department of Education as well as local school principals and teachers across the state to join the fight to end rape culture on school campuses. This is an important issue, and I am grateful to Trish and Yasmin for highlighting it.



This morning Trish said, We need to improve education and training about respectful relationships both in the classroom and in the staff room."



Earlier today students at Swansea High School held a rally against comments allegedly made in the classroom by a teacher that men constantly fight the urge to rape and that womens choice of clothing could provoke sexual assault.



In response Trish said, As a former teacher, I know that the words and views that we express in the classroom, beyond just whats in the syllabus, have a profound impact on the young people in our classrooms. We need to end the culture of victim blaming that follows public debate around sexual violence.

As the students of Swansea High have reminded us, rape is not caused by a woman wearing a short skirt. It is caused by a rapist. It is never the womans fault. The Department of Education needs to focus on how we can eliminate sexism from the corridors and classrooms of our schools so that old prejudices dont keep being passed down to the next generation.

All teachers must undertake professional development and training to ensure they arent undoing and undermining the Respectful Relationships lessons being given by their colleagues in the PDHPE classroom."



(Photo courtesy of Yasmin Catley MP)