Sex ed in Canada: Equipping teachers to talk about consent

In this Scholars in Education series conversation, we spoke with De Montigny about the importance of empowering educators to teach about consent and what her research findings may bring to classroom teaching and learning. 

De Montigny’s research is funded in part by a doctoral scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
 

I've been interested in child development and education since I was little. I used to play teacher with a blackboard, chalk and my stuffed animals! 

Later, I was a ski instructor for four and five year olds, a camp counsellor and a swim instructor. I worked as a supply teacher in primary schools in Quebec during my undergrad years. It was obvious to me (and everyone who knows me!) that I would become a teacher. 

While studying international development at the University of Ottawa, I did volunteer teaching placements: I went to teach English in Zanzibar and the Galapagos Islands. It was a way of travelling while exploring different education systems. That's when I developed an interest in teacher training.  These placements I did during my bachelor’s degree in education made me realize just how much I loved being in the classroom, so I decided to teach primary school for about 10 years before eventually going back to school to pursue my doctorate.
 

My doctoral research focuses on teaching consent in French-language primary schools in Ontario. More specifically, I’m doing developmental research, which means that there are theoretical aspects — for example, developing a definition of consent that can be used in the classroom, based on the scientific literature in law, philosophy and sociology — but there’s also a large practical component. 

My aim is to develop training for school staff to better equip them to talk about consent with pupils in an ongoing, gradual and appropriate way throughout their schooling. To do this, I first developed a questionnaire to find out what teachers and future teachers need and how they perceive education about sexuality and consent. I also sought the advice of experts in various fields (education, sexology, psycho-education, prevention of sexual violence, etc.) to ensure that the measurement tool was balanced and rigorously designed.
 

The idea for this research came from a combination of my personal and professional experiences and the current social climate. I started thinking about it around 2020, when Quebec media were talking about a wave of reports of sexual assault and sexual violence in the arts. The discourses we heard at the time showed a lack of understanding of what consent entails, since we had — and still have — in our minds that an assault is committed by a stranger and involves physical violence, whereas statistics and research show that they are mostly committed by someone known to the victim. 

At the same time, the term “coercion” came into use, and the discussions surrounding the notion of consent broadened to encompass a whole continuum of gestures — insistence, emotional blackmail, inappropriate touching, and so on.  

As a primary school teacher, I wondered whether it wouldn’t be a good idea to start prevention in preschool by talking about consent in its broadest sense, such as asking permission and respecting the other person’s response (when you share a toy, when you want to hug a friend, when a friend asks you to stop behaving in a certain way). What would happen if, from the age of four, pupils understood that they had the right to say no, and that their wishes should be respected?

I hope my work will have a positive impact on both teachers and students. By developing my training, I want to equip school staff who are responsible for teaching about consent. It’s in the curriculum from first year in Ontario. Not all of them have the appropriate training to do so, which means that many are uncomfortable talking about it or don’t know how to do it properly. However, for students to understand consent, it’s vital that teachers themselves have a solid understanding of this complex notion, which can be taboo.  

My hope is that students will deepen their understanding of consent, enabling them to have healthy interpersonal relationships, in friendship and in romantic situations. Taken individually, the messages we convey through our interventions may seem insignificant, especially with young students, but they should be seen as scaffolding. Children make sense of the messages they register over time, and this has an impact on their behaviour. The message must therefore be consistent and constant. It seems to me that it’s much easier to understand what sexual consent is if they understand consent in its global sense.

I would say that what surprises me (pleasantly!) is the positive reception from the teachers and teachers candidates when I talk to about my research. I didn't know if I was the only one interested in this issue. Teachers also have a lot on their plates, so I didn't want to add more. That's why I decided to set up a workshop that would enable them to use daily “teaching moments” rather than a separate program. I'd say that the feedback that's come back most often is that they know it's important to talk about consent and want to teach it, but don't know what the best ways are to approach the subject.

One of the texts that stood out for me was sociologist Liz Kelly's 1987 article entitled “The Continuum Of Sexual Violence.” I found it fascinating that a text from over thirty years ago is still so relevant, to the extent that a translation of it (was done) in 2019. Kelly argues that the type of act of sexual violence is not directly related to the severity of the impact. From this perspective, it’s clear that the continuum is not linear, but rather circular. Her research shows that most of the women interviewed had been confronted with sexual violence, without necessarily realizing it at first.

I chose the University of Ottawa for two reasons. First, I did all my university studies here and I loved my experiences. As a teacher in Ontario and wanting to do research on the Ontario education context, it made sense to me to continue at a university at the center of this reality. It was also very important for me to be able to study and work in French. I was quite fortunate to find my thesis supervisor, Professor Marie-Hélène Brunet. From the first time we met, I was excited by all the ideas for projects I could work on with her. She immediately believed in me and my project, offering continual support, advising me and pushing my thinking. My doctoral career would certainly not be as fulfilling without her!

Béatrice de Montigny is a doctoral candidate and part-time professor in the Faculty of Education. Her recent publications include Définir le concept de consentement en contexte éducatif : proposition à partir de la Toile de l’égalité ; Éducation à la sexualité et diversité des apprenants. Enjeux irréconciliables ?  and Passage problématique en lecture de groupe : 3 solutions (2024).