We’re not being taught enough about sex ed and porn in class, say children

More than half of 16 and 17-year-olds believe schools are not teaching them enough about the attitudes of boys and men towards women and girls and what a healthy relationship looks like, a survey has found.

Nor are they being sufficiently educated about pornography and power imbalances in relationships, they say.

The findings will alarm people concerned about the high numbers of boys and young men who say they admire or follow Andrew Tate, whose misogynistic and extreme views have been slated as dangerous to women and girls.

Tate, who is being held in Romania on trafficking and rape charges, is the founder of an online “academy” said to involve the dehumanising of women, violence and sexual assault.

In polling by the Sex Education Forum charity among people aged 16 and 17, some 58 per cent said power imbalances in relationships were not taught in enough depth, and the same proportion said they were not given enough education about pornography.

Overall, less than half – only 40 per cent – of those questioned rated their lessons at school in relationships and sex education (RSE) as good or very good. And nearly one in five (18 per cent) said the standard of teaching in the subject was bad or very bad.

Some 57 per cent said culture and faith-based perspectives were too poorly taught, and 54 per cent said the same of LGBTQ+-relevant information.

Schools also failed to give adequate teaching on the attitudes and behaviour of boys and men towards women and girls, according to 55 per cent of those polled, and on what a healthy relationship looks like, including online relationships, according to 54 per cent.

The research, carried out by Censuswide among 1,002 16 and 17-year-olds in England, also found 44 per cent of respondents agreed that what they learnt in RSE had helped them and 42 per cent said the content felt relevant to them.

More than half of young people felt they had enough information about bullying and cyberbullying (70 per cent), puberty (65 per cent), how babies are conceived and born and sexual consent (63 per cent) and condoms and contraception (62 per cent).

The government is due to carry out a review of its mandatory guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE).

The Sex Education Forum said policymakers should listen to pupils’ views and the government should make good on its pledge for investment in RSE training.

Lucy Emmerson, chief executive of the charity, said: “Young people are honest about the shortcomings they perceive in school RSE, and the government needs to listen to them to deliver more meaningful RSE.

“Policymakers risk letting down a whole generation if they pass up this year’s opportunity to engage young people on curricula development and deliver on the teacher training investment.”