'Five friends influence government' as UK inches closer to compulsory domestic abuse lessons

Compulsory domestic abuse lessons for college students have moved a step closer, with campaigners hailing a “historic” win as the government considers making the change.

After weeks of delay, the government has now confirmed it is considering a recommendation by MPs on the Women and Equalities Committee. If put into action, it would mean relationships and sex education (RSHE) becoming compulsory in post-16 education.

The campaign is spearheaded by student Faustine Petron, who began the Make It Mandatory campaign following her experience of an abusive relationship.

“We have influenced the government as a group of five friends,” Petron told The Big Issue.

“Today we’ll be celebrating that but keeping the pressure up, so their considerations manifest in real – and potentially life-saving – changes for young people.”

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Currently, RSE is only compulsory up to year 11 – but pupils must remain in education until they are 18.

Compulsory lessons will help young people recognise the signs of coercive control and domestic abuse, the campaigners argue, and encourage healthy relationships in an at-risk group.

Tory MP Caroline Nokes, chair of the Women and Equalities Committtee, said the government needed to “crack on” and make the change.

“There is a really obvious gap between 16 and 18 when young people are required to be in education or training, but there is no requirement for them to be receiving any sort of RSHE at all,” Nokes told The Big Issue.

Issues such as explicit image sharing, consent, and sexually transmitted diseases are all commonplace among 16-18-year-olds, Nokes added.

“That is why the government needs to crack on with issuing guidance to schools, needs to complete the review into RSHE and not shy away from making sure our young people are equipped to deal with the world in which they actually are,” Nokes said.

Backed by domestic abuse charity Refuge, Petron and her fellow campaigners took a 90,000-strong petition to parliament on Valentine’s Day.

They believed they were close to a victory in July when MPs backed the change, but were kept in the dark for months after the initial September 5 deadline for a response came and went.

“For one and a half years they have given us a very clear no, straight up, every single time,” Petron added.

“This is landmark as it’s the first time the government themselves are considering it. They have said no unfortunately – and very wrongly – to most of the other recommendations”.

The Department for Education would not give any further details on its ‘consideration’, but in a statement told The Big Issue: “The Department for Education is currently considering a recommendation from the Women and Equalities Select Committee, made on 5 July 2023, that relationships, health and sex education should be compulsory for young people in post-16 educational settings.”