A survivor of domestic abuse says the government is “letting down a generation of young people” by not introducing compulsory relationship and sex education for 16 to 18-year-olds.
It comes as data from the Office for National Statistics shows domestic abuse is most commonly reported by those aged between 16 to 19.
Faustine Petron, who used to be in an abusive relationship, said a lack of compulsory education on coercive control and signs of abuse was “negligent” and “inappropriate”.
The Cambridge university student told Sky News: “I was a child, and it’s very difficult sometimes when the lines are a bit blurred between love and abuse.
“Sometimes abusers masquerade abuse as love.”
Ms Petron’s petition, with more than 105,000 signatures, calling for mandatory education has been delivered to Downing Street.
Currently, relationship and sex education is compulsory for those up to the age of 16. But it’s then up to post-16 educational providers to use their existing budget and resources to provide it if they choose to.
“There is much to gain from adding that extra two years on,” Ms Petron said. “At 16, that’s normally, on average, when young people are starting their first sexual encounters and having sex.
“So they’re going to have new questions and different things that concern them than when they were in Year 7 or 8.”
In response to the campaign, a government spokesperson told Sky News: “All abuse is abhorrent, and this government is determined to root it out as part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade through our Plan for Change.
“As part of our review of the relationships, sex and health curriculum, the education secretary has been clear that she will ensure children are learning the skills they need to build positive, healthy relationships, right from primary school.
“More widely, we are considering every option to fundamentally transform the system and address the issue of domestic abuse head on, and that includes everything from supporting victims to looking at whether we need to change the law.”
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Ms Petron believes lessons like this could protect young women and men from a future of potential abuse and violence.
“I think there’s so much at risk,” she added. “I think when I say that it’s a life-saving education, I’m not just saying that as a big kind of catchy statement, it’s because I genuinely believe it.
“That if all young people, regardless of their gender, are well-equipped to know the signs of abuse, what a healthy relationship looks like, how to maintain healthy sexual health, all of these really important things, I think people will be kept safer from the kind of abuse that I’ve faced.”
