Join me live on Instagram tonight with Chanel Contos, founder of the Teach Us Consent Foundation.

We are in a moment of reckoning when it comes to the treatment of women and girls. Inspired by the stories of people like Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins, young women across Australia are standing up and calling out bad behaviour. Just last week, students at Adelaide High went on strike to protest the sexist behaviour they had been subject to within their school. 

Chanel and I will be talking about the importance of consent in sex education and how we can foster safety and respect for women and girls in our workplaces, schools and communities.

Chanel shot into the public domain in February of 2021 after seeding the ‘Teach Us Consent’ movement that has inspired a national conversation in Australia around consent and the lack of education on the topic in schools.

Her Instagram poll (@teachusconsent) asked how many girls from Sydney had experienced – or knew someone who had experienced – sexual assault. The results were shocking, with over 70 percent of respondents saying yes. Since then, Chanel has collected over 6,100 personal testimonies and over 40,000 signatures across Australia demanding consent education reform.

Chanel has collaborated with NSW Police to establish an online reporting mechanism for sexual assault survivors, worked with school principals to implement immediate consent education reform, and appeared on TV programs including BBC World, The Project, the Today Show and more recently 60 Minutes. 

Join us live on Instagram tonight at 8 pm AEST (7.30 pm CST) to continue this important conversation.

Sarah Hanson-Young

P.S. Follow me on Instagram @sarah_hansonyoung to get an alert when we go live tonight.