A small vigil in Russell Square

ONE of the organisers of a vigil for Sarah Everard said consent and healthy relation­ships need to be taught in schools in a bid to stop women and girls being sexually harassed.

Campaigners are looking at how education at an early age could change attitudes.

Nina de Ayala Parker said: “We could have a module that is across the whole curriculum that teaches young children from even the age of nine upwards about healthy relationships.

“Children think about what they learn as normal and they are affected by it.”

She said: “They may come from a family that doesn’t have healthy relationships at home, so they could learn what is acceptable and what isn’t.

“I wasn’t taught about consent at school, that needs to be taught now as well as healthy relationships. It’s so important.”

Nina de Ayala Parker

Ms de Ayala Parker and fellow organisers had to call off the vigil in Russell Square on Saturday amid the threat of Covid fines, although some people did light candles near the fountains in the park.

She said: “These conversa­tions are massively overdue and a life didn’t have to be taken for them to start either.”

Amid the debate on what must change was the idea of making PSHE (personal, social and health education) classes more effective.

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Izzy Jones is the headteacher at William Ellis, the all-boys school in Highgate Road, said things had changed in recent years and pupils had lessons in gender equality and the MeToo movement.

“It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that other people feel safe, whether we know them or not,” she said.

“Next Monday’s tutorials will look at what boys and young men, in particular, can do to be effective and responsible citizens in this respect.”

She added that being an all-boys school “certainly puts us in the important position of being able to explicitly address those issues from a male perspective and provide students with the environment to raise their questions and consider any unconscious assumptions they may have”.

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Sophie Fegan, headteacher at all-girls school La Sainte Union also in Highgate Road, said she was proud of the PSHE curriculum and pupils were able to “confront stereotypes and discuss difficult topics in a safe environment, such as the objectification of women and domestic abuse.”

She added: “We teach our girls from Year 7 to Year 13 how to be safe but also want to address the structural and societal issues that lead to danger for women, and want to work towards a society in which young women would not need to be so safety aware.”

The mixed sixth form had been discussing “toxic masculinity” in their politics lesson, she said, adding that “both the girls and boys have positive ideas about changing the way men and boys perceive themselves and behave towards girls and women”.