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Key messages
- An RSE program should work towards eliminating discrimination.
- Teachers must be aware of their legal obligations in relation to the Equal Opportunities Act.
- Strategies for ensuring an inclusive environment are listed.
- A step-by-step guide to dealing with discriminatory comments has been provided.
Eliminating discrimination
A relationships and sexuality education (RSE) program should work towards eliminating discrimination.
The rights of individuals should be upheld and everyone should be treated with:
- respect
- fairness
- equability
- dignity.
Equal Opportunities Act
Teachers must be aware of their legal obligations in relation to the Equal Opportunities Act and take responsibility for addressing students' actions that are discriminatory.
The Equal Opportunity Act's objectives are to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against persons on the grounds of:
- sex
- marital status
- pregnancy
- family responsibility or family status
- race
- religion
- political conviction
- ability
- age
- gender.
Schools play a key role in working towards eliminating discrimination by promoting equality and having a zero tolerance for any discrimination.
Strategies for an inclusive environment
- Respond to racist, sexist, ableist, homophobic, transphobic, intersex-phobic slurs - this demonstrates that you will ensure a safe environment for all students.
- Be aware of diversity - not all students identify as heterosexual, not all students are able bodied, not all disabilities are visible, not all students have the same body parts.
- Represent diversity in lessons and classrooms (e.g. Images that are diverse in race, ability, relationships).
- Try to use inclusive language (e.g. partner instead of boyfriend/girlfriend, parents instead of mum/dad).
How to respond to discriminatory behaviour
If students use derogatory phrases (e.g. homo, poof, leso, 'that's so gay', etc) use the following approach in relation to the group agreement.
- Name the use of the term as an issue:
- "You may not have meant to be hurtful, but when you say 'that is so gay', you are saying that being gay is bad or stupid and that is hurtful and homophobic.
- Explicitly state that it is not OK and will not be tolerated:
- "Language like that is unacceptable, there are many ways to express your feelings about something without being disrespectful or hurtful to others."
- Remind the student that we all agreed to the group agreement which says... (e.g. no put-downs, be respectful, etc).
- Focus on challenging the negative opinions rather than the person.
- Don't expect to win or lose an encounter. Exploring attitudes and values is about presenting different viewpoints and getting people to think outside of their own set of values.
- Avoid debate of religious arguments. Where a person has strongly held view, it is more productive to discuss sexuality issues in terms of how the person is feeling.
- School procedures and behaviour policies should outline how this sort of behaviour should be managed.
