Luke Kirkness: Decision to end school consent and healthy relationships programme Mates and Dates wrong

Tautoko Mai Sexual Harm Support chief executive Blair Gilbert. Photo / Emma Houpt

OPINION:

It is always disappointing to hear about local schools missing out on services that help their students.

But the decision to stop funding a programme teaching teens about consent and healthy relationships could, in my view, have seriously damaging effects - and local sexual harm specialists and schools are not happy either.

As reported on Wednesday, ACC funding for the Mates and Dates programme will end in December with the Ministry of Education then becoming the lead agency for consent education next year.

Mates and Dates, operated by Tautoko Mai Sexual Harm Support in the Bay, aims to provide secondary school students with skills and knowledge to prevent harm caused by sexual and dating violence.

The programme has been delivered to about 150,000 students in 433 schools nationwide for up to $6 million a year over the past seven years - including all but two Bay of Plenty secondary schools.

Tautoko Mai chief executive Blair Gilbert believes the move will "cut a key pillar" of sexual harm prevention.

ACC says that nationally Mates and Dates had been delivered in predominantly higher decile schools and engaged a "disproportionate number" of Pākehā students.

The next step? Early next year, the ministry will release educator resources developed to help schools implement a relationship and sexuality education guide, some with a "specific focus on consent".

The plan is for regional hui to take place for teachers in term four and throughout 2023.

The ministry believes relationships and sex education are best delivered by teachers who knew their students.

But as far as the schools that spoke to NZME are concerned, the programme has been a roaring success and some have concerns about providing the education themselves.

Ōtūmoetai College teacher in charge of health Kathryn Brewer says school counsellors are dealing with the repercussions of unhealthy relationships and non-consent and have noticed improvements since the programme started.

Imagine Believe Achieve kaitohutohu (advisor or instructor) Paora Howe says he is not looking forward to the funding expiry as the delivery style and core messages had been "excellent".

"It's not something we can do and we need specialists to do it.

''It's made a difference for us as staff because they can touch on boundaries where we don't have that kind of expertise and knowledge."

Rotorua Girls' High School principal Sarah Davis said teachers could deliver the programme but having experts on call would result in better outcomes for students.

Sexual harm is a major issue in young people's lives.

As reported last year there were 47 sexual assaults and related offences in the Bay of Plenty in the first three months of the year — a five-year high.

In my view, the decision to end the programme in our schools is wrong.