Young people learning about healthy & unhealthy relationships

From reading The Rise Report by WomensAid- http://The-Rise-Report-Final.pdf (womensaid.scot) it is evident that research needs to be done to see what schools are currently doing to support young people in teaching about healthy and unhealthy relationships. and to ensure that there is formal education given to young people on domestic abuse and violence to help prevent this as they grow into adults. 

Findings from the report highlight that 57% of respondents did not learn about domestic abuse or unhealthy relationships in school, and 0% of respondents said that they felt supported in learning about relationships in school. This suggests a gap in education that is affecting young women’s lives and development through to adulthood.

The report discusses how there are many misconceptions on the extent to how abuse can affect survivors, and who it can affect. For example, the report found that there were perceptions that abuse only happens in more mature relationships, only with a partner, only when partners live together, and only in private. This suggests that there needs to be more education provided on all elements of abuse, in order to allow survivors to establish that they are experiencing abuse.

Education is so important as more preventative work needs to be done to protect young people growing into adulthood from violence. Furthermore, research into how young people are currently being educated could be vital as it could reveal underlying issues in why abuse takes place if people don’t have an understanding of what is right and wrong in a relationship.