Classes On Sexual Consent Will Be Introduced To All Second-Level Schools

Education Minister Richard Bruton has announced that all second-level students will receive classes on consent as part of a new shake-up of the sex education system in Irish schools. 

The Irish Independent reports that Minister Bruton ‘wants to ensure that there is sufficient emphasis on the importance of consent and what it actually means.’ 

The announcement comes in the wake of the recent high-profile Belfast rape trial which saw Ireland rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding acquitted on all charges. The jury’s decision has led to protests being held all over the country in the past week. 

Minister Bruton has has written to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to advise on an update to the current Relationships and Sexual Education curriculum which has been in place since the 1990s and is now seen as being out of date. 

The minister also announced that the new curriculum will encompass contraception, the effects of social media on relationships and self-esteem as well as LGBTQ+ issues. 

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