Albanese government to launch storybook to teach children from culturally diverse backgrounds about consent

My Superhero Voice, which will be available online, is careful not to single out a particular religion or culture

The Australian government will launch a storybook aimed at teaching children from multicultural backgrounds about body safety and consent on Wednesday, but experts say “there is still more to do”.

The book, titled My Superhero Voice, is part of the government’s One Talk at a Time campaign, aimed at preventing child sexual abuse. It was developed by the National Office for Child Safety and consulting agency Cultural Perspectives.

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One in 20 Australian adults found to have suffered reproductive coercion and abuse

Australian Study of Health and Relationships finds 3.9% of women aged 16-69 had experienced contraceptive interference and 4.9% forced abortion

One in 20 Australian adults have experienced reproductive coercion and abuse.

That is among the findings of the Australian Study of Health and Relationships (ASHR), released this week, the first time researchers in Australia have estimated the national prevalence of behaviour used to control a person’s reproductive autonomy.

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‘I constantly was saying no’: ex-Abercrombie & Fitch boss accused of abuse at global sex events

Mike Jeffries, now 80, has been accused of exploiting young men for sex in cities around the world from 2009-15

The former chief executive of the American fashion brand Abercrombie & Fitch faces new allegations this weekend of exploitation and abuse at sex events held around the world.

One witness said he attended a sex event in Spain with the former fashion boss Mike Jeffries and his British partner Matthew Smith, believing it was going to be a photoshoot, the BBC reported. Young men were injected with liquid Viagra at other events, according to witnesses.

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More than 20% of Australians aged 18 to 45 have committed sexual violence in adulthood, report shows

Men more likely to perpetrate sexual violence than women, and more likely to commit multiple forms of sexual violence, survey of 5,000 Australians shows

Just over one-fifth of Australians aged 18 to 45 have perpetrated a form of sexual violence since turning 18, and one in 14 have done so in the past year, a survey of more than 5,000 Australians has found.

The Australian Institute of Criminology report released Tuesday also found men were significantly more likely than women to have perpetrated sexual violence, with 26.4% doing so in adulthood, and 13.2% doing so in the past 12 months. That compared with 17.7% of women perpetrating sexual violence since turning 18, and 6.6% doing so in the past 12 months.

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Risk of serious injury as strangling during sex becomes normalised among young Australians

Sexual violence experts concerned about health risks and lack of consent after survey shows almost 60% of respondents under 35 had been choked at least once

Strangling a partner during sex is widely perceived as normal especially among young people, with more than half of adults aged 35 and under reporting they have been strangled, many of them unaware of potentially serious health consequences.

It is a finding that has sexual violence experts so concerned that they launched the “Breathless” campaign and website on Tuesday to highlight that strangulation – often referred to as “choking” – is unsafe, and often occurs with no or inadequate communication or consent.

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‘Parents need to step up’: Labor to launch $40m sexual consent campaign to combat ‘confusion’

The federal government hopes parents will educate themselves so they can teach their children ‘to have safe, healthy relationships’

Parents should educate themselves about sexual consent so they can teach their kids about it, the federal government says, with a new $40m national campaign encouraging adults to learn about the issue to address “confusion”.

The consent education advocate Chanel Contos said it was “not enough” simply to teach children about the issue in schools, saying parents also needed to step up and talk to their kids about consent. She encouraged parents to educate themselves and speak to other adults about consent.

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