“These programs are crucial for students. I believe they need to keep running and evolving with students to ultimately make a change. Respectfully relating is a social issue and the education system is given a captive audience to lead social change. It is needed for a safer world.”
Brenna, Year 9, VicSRC
Last month, VicSRC Student Executive Committee member, Taj (he/him) and VicSRC Ambassador, Brenna (she/her) were invited to join an expert panel for Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS) launch of Professor Emeritus Helen Cahill's latest research into Respectful Relationships Education.
The research report (which you can read a summary of over on ANROWS website), looked into the importance of relevant respectful relationships and consent education and what the current state of affairs is for students who are receiving this education in a secondary school setting.
Taj & Brenna were fantastic representatives for all Victorian students, openly discussing their own lived experiences and adding the perspectives of Victorian students on the importance of improving student voice mechanisms when designing these education programs.
The webinar was attended by 435 people and the vast majority of feedback was around how important it was to hear Taj & Brenna's perspectives. One of the highlighted quotes in the feedback collection was Taj's "there is no way any one person's eyes can see everything" which formed a common theme across the webinar.
You can watch the full webinar below, but if you're wanting to see the super stardom that is Taj & Brenna's perspectives, watch from about the 26 minute mark.