Chanel Contos, the Greek Australian activist who successfully pushed for consent education to be included in the national curriculum, is now campaigning to introduce “porn literacy” into schools.
Citing research that shows Australian children are first exposed to pornography at an average age of 11, Contos argues that students need age-appropriate tools to critically navigate such content rather than encounter it in isolation and shame.
“I think the biggest thing that’s missing is porn literacy,” Contos told The Daily Telegraph. “It’s quite jarring to think about, but it’s much worse to let that be their only experience interacting with the content in a really unsafe way.”
Contos believes that while sex education in Australia has made notable progress – particularly around consent – it must evolve to keep up with the fast-changing digital landscape and the rise of toxic online influences such as Andrew Tate and “manosphere” content.
She also expressed concern that boys and young men are increasingly adopting gender-restrictive attitudes, fuelled by online platforms, and warned of a cultural pushback.
“We’re not working from point minus one, we’re working from point minus ten,” she said, noting a more “hostile” tone in youth responses to her talks.
Despite this, Contos remains cautiously optimistic, highlighting that Australia’s education sector is world-leading in many areas, but calling for more agility in policymaking to meet young people where they are – particularly boys – without judgment.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
