Tackling a femicide “epidemic” in Northern Ireland needs to begin with educating young people over gender equality and misogyny, MLAs have been told.
Stormont’s Education Committee also heard a claim that LGBT young people are being failed by the education system in Northern Ireland through the current provision of relationships and sexuality education (RSE).
The committee is carrying out an inquiry into RSE and heard evidence from a representative of the Rainbow Project, which works with LGBT+ communities in Northern Ireland and HERe NI, a charity which supports lesbian and bisexual women.
Westminster last year approved regulations designed to ensure pupils in Northern Ireland receive age-appropriate information about access to contraception and abortion services.
However, MLAs heard concerns on Wednesday that in many other areas of RSE, what is taught can vary between schools.
Alexa Moore from the Rainbow Project said: “Unfortunately, LGBT young people have been quite frankly failed in our education system for many, many years.”
Ms Moore said the groups had carried out focus groups which found that a low number of LGBT young people had heard of RSE.
She added: “A number said they only experienced discussions of these topics within the context of religious education and often whenever homosexuality or LGBTQI+ identity and relationships came up, it often turned into almost a debate about whether being gay was right or wrong.
“I am sure you can imagine how that would make an LGBT young person feel within that space.”
She added: “One of many problems is that teachers, or external providers aren’t equipped or aren’t willing to start to address some of these concerns.”
Sophie Nelson from HERe NI said the current approach to RSE was not adequate (NI Assembly/PA)
Sophie Nelson from HERe NI said the current approach to RSE was “not an adequate method of delivery”.
She said: “It does not come close to providing a gold standard of RSE that our young people deserve.
“Too many young people above the age of 14, that we spoke to, had received little or no sex education.”
She said RSE needed to tackle issues such as gender equality and misogyny.
She said: “Four women killed in six weeks in the north due to femicide.
“We have an epidemic of gender-based violence and the prevention of this needs to start in school in relationships and sex education.”
Ms Nelson added: “Our recommendation to the department is that you should upskill and resource specialist staff to deliver RSE, moving away from the prevalence of external providers and ensuring that knowledge and expertise is developed in-house within schools.”