A social network analysis and implementation study of an intervention designed to advance social and emotional learning and respectful relationships in secondary schools

Abstract

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a significant issue within society. In the Australian context, one in four (23%) women compared to one in fourteen (7.3%) men have experienced violence by an intimate partner since the age of 15. Additionally, one in five women (22%) and one in sixteen men (6.1%) have experienced sexual violence (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2023). Between 2018 and 2019, the majority (97%) of sexual assault offenders recorded by police were male, with males aged 15 to 19 having the highest sexual assault offender rates of any age group (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2020). Although Australian community attitudes in relation to gender-based violence have shown slight improvement since 2009, the ANROWS 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS) highlights that many Australians (41% of respondents) continue to believe domestic violence is equally committed by men and women, not recognising that it is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men against women (Coumarelos et al., 2023). Incongruence between the prevalence data and community presumptions and attitudes points to a need for further development of community understandings about the intrinsic relationship between gender and domestic and sexual forms of violence. Education is central to this work. Education settings play a key role in the prevention of GBV, since they can be universally accessed, are pivotal in the social, emotional and cognitive development of children and young people and are connected to broader communities. Recognising the imperative of the provision of GBV prevention within school settings to effect change, this research project examined the delivery of the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) program to Year 7 and Year 9 students in six Victorian secondary schools. This education program is a research-informed comprehensive social and emotional learning (SEL) and respectful relationships program, published by the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) and authored by academics from the University of Melbourne. The learning objectives within the program are consistent with the guidance provided in the Victorian and Australian curriculum (see Appendices A and B for an overview of the program topics).