Session 1
On Monday 19 August, Katrina Marson will make the case for young people’s right to access this education, explore the practicalities in a school setting, share strategies for parents/carers, and address barriers to implementation. The session will run from 7.00–8.30pm in the IWA. Katrina will have copies of her book for purchase.
Katrina has been researching the protective power of sex-ed to prevent sexual violence and safeguard sexual wellbeing for a decade. She has been a criminal lawyer since 2013, and led the implementation of the Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission’s criminal justice recommendations in the ACT before returning to the ACT DPP as a senior prosecutor in the Sexual Offences Unit. Katrina is a Churchill Fellowship recipient and has been appointed to the Federal Government’s National Respectful Relationships Education Expert Working Group. Her first book, ‘Legitimate Sexpectations: the power of sex-ed’, was published in 2022. You can access her TEDx talk here.
Session 2
On Monday 2 September, Dr Victoria Rawlings from the Corridor Cultures research partnership between the University of Sydney and Carey, will provide parents with an update on the research and what it’s telling us about gender and sexuality, belonging and connectedness.
This parent forum be held in the Metcalfe Hall (in JSK) from 7.00–8.00pm and will draw on the research Vic has conducted at Carey and two other schools as part of the Corridor Cultures project, plus earlier research Vic conducted in different countries and contexts. Vic’s research reinforces that what is essential for some children is good for all children and that identities within particular groups can contribute to ideas that benefit everyone.
Vic is a Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA Fellow in the University of Sydney School of Education and Social Work. She works alongside school communities with teacher and student co-researchers to explore and influence institutional cultures of gender and sexuality. She also conducts research on cultures of gender and sexuality in other spaces, and has previously worked with girls and women who umpire Australian Football.
Please contact the Head of Student Wellbeing, Allan Griffin, if you have any questions.
Allan Griffin
Head of Student Wellbeing