TAKING the battle against domestic violence into the classroom is a natural extension of a national community conversation which has already seen sporting teams and prominent Australians challenge Australian men to examine their behaviour.
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Domestic violence education is not unknown in NSW schools but until now the way it was dealt with has been largely up to individual schools and teachers.
The program announced by the State Government will see domestic violence issues made a compulsory part of the Personal Development, Health and Physical Education subject which must be studied by students from years 7 to 10.
For boys and girls, recognising what domestic violence is and that it should never be accepted as part of life for women will be the message the subject will attempt to get across.
Until now much of the public message in the central west has been carried by local sportsmen who have reinforced the message that superior strength can never be used in a domestic situation.
It is a message that boys and girls also need to hear and the classroom is a good forum.
We know from the horrific statistics on assaults on women that past strategies have failed, that trying to modify the behaviour of men who have witnessed domestic violence and been guilty of it themselves is an incredibly difficult task.
Using sportsmen as role models and enlisting sporting codes and clubs to reinforce the message is a commendable start but something else has to be done.
Just as personal development and health subjects in high school teach teenagers about respecting their bodies they need to learn what constitutes a healthy relationship and that there is no place for violence in a relationship. This approach may prove to be the circuit breaker which changes the way some men and women think about violence in a relationship before serious relationships are formed and violent behaviour becomes ingrained.