Educating young people on respectful relationships reduces gender-based violence, bullying and sexual harassment among high school students, a new study by Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) has found.
The research examined the responses of 400 school-aged students in Year 7 and Year 9, surveying their gendered attitudes before and after they went through a program called ‘Resilience Rights and Respectful Relationships’ (RRRR).
The program saw students learn about social and emotional well-being, respectful relationships and covered topics such as emotional literacy, personal strengths, stress management and positive gender relationships.
The ANROWS research found that schools where the program was successfully implemented saw a decrease in bullying from 11.8 per cent to 10.3 per cent and sexual harassment from 8.7 per cent to 5.9 per cent among high school students.
Students also recorded better outcomes in levels of resilience after the program.
Although the data shows the positive impact the program offered students in terms of improved relationships with peers, the research revealed that support for gender equality declined with age.
Year 7 boys reported higher levels of confidence in calling out or intervening in cases of sexual harassment compared to Year 9 boys.
One Year 7 male student was quoted as saying the program “…help[ed] me in my life because I’m someone who’s peer pressured a lot…it helps me stand up for myself and not let people tell me what to do.”
However, compared to female students and gender diverse young people, boys were far less likely to intervene in cases of sexual harassment.
Teachers who taught the RRRR program said they were given strong guidance on how to have collaborative discussions while also having the space to critically reflect on gender norms with their students.
Melbourne University Emeritus Professor Helen Cahill, who led the research, believes that the study sheds light on how to best guide educators, parents, policy makers, young people on improving mental health and respectful relationships.
“The decline in mental health, and the increased rates of sexual harassment as students move into adolescence highlights the need to ensure that social and emotional learning and respectful relationships education starts in primary school and extends throughout the high school years,” Prof Cahill said.
Acting ANROWS CEO, Jane Lloyd said the latest research “highlights that respectful relationship programs work.”
“What is needed now is a consistent national approach,” she said. “Schools and teachers are asking for support to enable them to play their vital role in preventing violence against women. This research provides the evidence that these programs work and need to be widely implemented”.
Justine Elliot, assistant minister for Social Services and the Prevention of Family Violence said the research indicates the importance of a whole-of-society approach to prevent violence against women.
“With the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032, the government is committed to such an approach,” she said, referring to the Action Plan launched by the Albanese Labor Government in August to end violence — including a target of reducing female victims of intimate partner homicide by 25 per cent.
The latest figures from ABS show that more than one in five women in Australia have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
A study from 2021 found that a third of young people aged 14 to 18 years who had been in a relationship experienced some form of intimate partner abuse.
The ANROWS study concluded that research-informed prevention education programs such as the RRRR can help students understand the perspectives of others, improve gender equality and improve young people’s social engagement.
The research made a series of recommendations to help end the cycle violence, including setting a clear policy agenda, providing educators with research-informed teaching materials and resources, giving teachers space in the curriculum to deliver these programs and providing them with adequate professional learning and leadership support.