A MOVE to overhaul sex education in schools will be made at the SNP conference, following the revelation that reported sex crime in Scotland has reached a record high.
The motion from the youth wing of the party comes in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct within the SNP itself and the wider climate around the #MeToo and Time’s Up campaigns.
Accusations against former first minister Alex Salmond are being investigated by police while former early years minister Mark McDonald quit the Government last year after allegations of sexual harassment were found to be substantiated.
The Young Scots for Independence (YSI) motion calls on the Scottish Government to set up a working group to reform the sex education curriculum, with a specific commitment to tackle any lack of understanding around the issue of consent.
It also urges the Government to take steps to ensure the reformed curriculum is delivered in every Scottish school – denominational and non-denominational.
YSI say they want teachers to make clear the difference between verbal and non-verbal cues and the importance of sustained consent, as well as ensuring that every pupil understands that “no always means no”.
Students should also be made aware of recent changes to the law around sharing private sexual images, according to YSI.
“Issues of consent need to be taught and learned from an early age to combat the plague of sexual violence within Scottish society,” said the YSI’s political education officer Morgan Ritchie, who is seconding the motion.
She pointed out that sexual crimes in Scotland had been on an upward trend for several years. Police Scotland has revealed that in 2016/2017, reported sex crime reached an all time high, with a 5% increase on the record high the previous year.
A recently published study also found that 47% of people thought that it wasn’t acceptable for someone to withdraw consent once naked.
“These figures show us that something needs to be done and I believe that education is the greatest asset to tackling sexual violence at their core,” said Ritchie.
“This must be done now within the wave of campaigns such as the #MeToo movement. We must stand up to sexual violence and state that this behaviour cannot go on.”
She added: “We do not have to raise young girls with the expectation that they will be harassed, assaulted or even raped in their lifetime at the hands of men who do not understand that no means no.
“Instead, we can raise our new members of society with an inherent understanding of consent so they will not be plagued by the same pain of these people whose ‘no’ has gone unrecognised.”
YSI convenor Gavin Lundy, said it was a source of “national shame” that sexual crime, abuse, and misconduct was still rife in Scotland.
“People, particularly women, continue to be victims of abuses of power, position, and the ignorance of privilege,” he said.
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