Teaching kids about consent via videos about ‘milkshakes and tacos’? What a joke, says local filmmaker and mother Tasha Lawton.
Sex and health education in Australian schools is about to get real. Talk Revolution is a new learning resource created to make it easier to open the dialogue around our most taboo topics, in a way that teenagers can relate to. Peer to peer.
With more 3,900 young people alleging to have been sexually assaulted in some way whilst at school, Ms Lawton was not prepared to sit back and accept this statistic.
“We can do better than that. In 2021, there really is no reason why we should be embarrassed or awkward to talk about sex or sexuality with our young people,” she said
With the help of a passionate group of HPE teachers and academics from across Australia, Ms Lawton created Talk Revolution, Australia’s first school-based education program presented by kids for kids.
Talk Revolution is a series of eight video-based learning modules covering sensitive teenage ‘talks’: Sex Talk, Drug Talk, Alcohol Talk, Eating Disorder Talk, Gender Based Violence Talk, Sexuality Talk, Period Talk, and Suicide and Self Harm Talk.
Sex Talk in particular weighs in heavily when it comes to dealing directly with the matter of consent that is currently plaguing our young people and leaving the government, teachers and parents at a loss.
“There really is nothing like this being offered in Australian schools and Talk Revolution fills this gap,” University of Canberra Health and Physical Education lecturer Dr Michael Davies said.
Talk Revolution is designed to get kids talking about tricky topics and removes the taboo and embarrassment that has surrounded these subjects for too long.
The program has been developed for students in years 5-10 (ages 9-14) and covers 85 percent of the health content in the National/NSW and Victorian HPE Curriculum.
Taught over a four-week period, the eight modules include more than 70 videos and more than 500 pages of teacher notes, talking prompts, activities, a parent letter and poster.
Ms Lawton said real, honest, relatable, trustworthy and effective education around sensitive teenage topics in Australia had been thin on the ground for far too long.
“Talk Revolution will not only educate our kids respectfully but will open the dialogue to more meaningful conversations and greater care of one another,” she said.
Ms Lawton had a less than ideal upbringing herself and now with two teenagers of her own, she wants to make sure they, and others, are equipped to make positive choices.
“By encouraging open, honest, vulnerable and authentic conversations, we can empower our kids to make better, more informed decisions as they grow up,“ she said.
“Our goal is to see Talk Revolution in every classroom and every home. This program is crucial when it comes to normalising the conversation and smashing the shame and taboo around these sensitive topics“.
Talk Revolution offers an annual subscription for schools, as well as an option for families. Tasha Lawton believes the family program will help parents create a home where uncomfortable conversations can be discussed freely.
