“Cover your drink.”
“Don’t walk alone at night.”
“Don’t go to parties alone.”
These are phrases that many young high school students have heard before. For many students, the education they receive on sexual violence outside of school is limited. Parents make passing comments that can do more harm than good, the media often paints victims out to be false accusers and older siblings make jokes about how their college fraternity has dozens of rape allegations.
A lack of proper education about the issue is responsible for a culture that normalizes harassment and excuses assault, which makes the quality of the Staples’ sexual violence curriculum all the more important.
So, in honor of sexual assault awareness month, it is necessary to evaluate where the Staples curriculum for sexual violence falls short and where it succeeds.
Sexual assault is often viewed as taboo, but its ubiquity necessitates a comprehensive and continually improving curriculum. Compared to many other districts across the U.S., Staples is advanced and brings attention to generally undiscussed topics. But while Staples is sufficient in some areas, there is still greater room for improvement.
According to data collected by the CDC in 2017, 10% of high school students are sexually assaulted. With this knowledge, Staples should immediately implement lessons in every health class that inform students of their Title IX rights, their legal protections and the process for reporting assault, harassment and misconduct. There is still widespread confusion about how to report an assault at Staples and whom it should be reported to. This is unacceptable, especially considering the high rates of sexual assault among high school students. The Staples administration is obligated to create a safe space for students, which includes providing education on their rights and providing resources for reporting.
Additionally, Students could benefit from a deeper analysis on the topic of consent. While I do commend Staples for bringing attention to the topic, a more in-depth discussion could prove to be educational. The notorious “tea video” displayed in health classes which compares consenting to a sexual activity and consenting to drinking tea, is guilty of oversimplifying the topic. While it serves its purpose in starting a surface level conversation, more in-depth conversations about body language, ramifications for violating consent, consent in toxic relationships and many other nuanced topics need to be taking place in all health classes. Students of all ages are assaulted each year, therefore, they should logically be informed about the principles of consent starting from a younger age than they currently are.
In addition to expanding the conversation of consent, introducing other conversations focused on the culture surrounding sexual assault could be effective in preventing future assaults and deconstructing the stigmas associated with victims. Teachers could open the floor to discuss victim blaming, why many people choose not to report, how predatory behavior by high profile individuals being excused impacts the public’s perception of rape, why assault is so common and how to be an ally to victims. This encourages a space for students to express their views and acknowledge the presence of cultural norms that contribute to high rates of sexual violence.
Despite scrutinizing the ways Staples can advance its sexual assault education, I do admire the quality of the current curriculum compared to other school districts. The current curriculum addresses many misconceptions surrounding the topic of consent, how to be an active bystander, stereotypes about victims and even brings in workers from the Rowan Center, a sexual assault resource agency. All of this has created a great foundation for providing sexual assault education and prevention, but I believe that Staples can continue to develop the curriculum to be as educational and beneficial to students as possible.
I am aware that the time in class is limited, but sexual assault education and prevention truly is one of the most important things we learn in school. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that 20% and 1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted during college. These rates are alarmingly high and the prevalence of sexual violence in our society, especially for college students, is a grim reality that must be acknowledged in our education system. The purpose of high school is to provide students with the education they need to prepare for real life, and, unfortunately, that includes the reality of potentially being sexually assaulted. It’s time to stop sugar-coating and instead make progress towards a more sufficient and thorough curriculum that dismantles stigmas and provides students with these lessons that are imperative to understand for their future.