Next Tuesday, 18 March, our amendment will be debated in Parliament. If passed, this change in the law will ensure that young people aged 16-18—who are currently excluded from Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)—receive vital lessons on coercive control, healthy relationships, domestic abuse, and more.

I wish these lessons had been available when I was a teenager in an abusive relationship. They could have helped me recognise red flags sooner and understand where to seek support, which would have avoided me four years of serious violence.

We’re aiming to reach 100,000 signatures by Tuesday. Will you sign and support us in ensuring all young people are equipped to recognise the red flags of abuse, understand healthy relationships and much more through RSE?

I want to leave you with a heartbreaking comment from a parent on this petition—a stark reminder of why this law must change:

“My daughter ended her life in January 2022, aged 21, because she was in a coercive and controlling relationship and abused on every level. The perpetrator was the boy she met at school and had known since she was 12 years old.”

Let’s make sure no more young people suffer as I and many others have, 

Solidarity,

Faustine