Active* Consent - Parents, Guardians and Carers Seminar

For many parents and their children, the prospect of talking about topics related to sexuality can be daunting. Reports in the press make this whole area seem very scary. In this evening seminar, we share insights and resources so parents can support their children with the information young people need to develop independence in a social context where there seems to be a lot of sexist banter, sexting, image-based sexual abuse and sexual bullying.

The Active* Consent programme works with people all over Ireland and is based in the School of Psychology in the University of Galway. We have been working for over 14 years with young people, educators, parents, guardians & carers to develop effective tools to support our children to grow into emotionally and physically healthy adults. We do the research first and then we work with young people to make sure all our resources are engaging, accessible and relevant. The aim is to raise awareness, share knowledge and skills to reduce the vulnerability of our young people.

In response to the calls from parents, young people and teachers for more up to date Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools, we piloted our workshop for secondary school pupils in 2020. We also worked with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) as part of their expert development group to reform and update the SPHE/RSE curriculum. Well-taught RSE gives essential tools for life; strengthening young people’s ability to make conscious, satisfying, healthy and respectful choices within their relationships and to stay safe both on and offline. And, research shows that when young people are healthy, happy, feel safe and secure, they are more likely to do well in school.

Talking about sex and relationships does not encourage young people to go out and have sex. On the contrary, the reverse is true: with accurate information, young people are more likely to delay becoming sexually active. Consent skills are essential when it comes to human interactions where the consequences of getting it wrong can be the difference between sharing a positive experience or having a negative one.

Teachers in your child’s school may be using the Active* Consent school kit with a range of resources (workshops, eLearning module and different activities). So, before the workshops roll out, we would like to share with you why and what your school is planning to deliver; then, if you wish, you could continue the conversation and discussion at home with your children.

Our work is funded with the philanthropic backing of Lifes2Good Foundation, RETHINK Ireland and the Government of Ireland.