A COUNCIL authority in Wales has angrily denied recent newspaper stories about advice given to pupils over sexual consent.
Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) insists that the widespread news story which claims that older teenagers were being taught to accept dangerous and illegal sexual behaviour is ‘a classic example of how misinformation can generate headlines’.
The council emphasised three points:
1/ Children are NOT being taught that dangerous sexual behaviour is okay with consent.
2/ BCBC has called the stories ‘A classic example’ of how misinformation triggers widespread media coverage.
3/ Non-fatal strangulation remains an illegal, dangerous criminal act.
A BCBC spokesman said: “Several national newspapers have claimed to have seen slides from a 2024 Powerpoint presentation stating that ‘choking’ a partner should never be carried out without first obtaining consent. However, the slides were part of inaccurate or out-of-date information that was either updated or removed before the presentation was ever used in a classroom.
“Developed by the Assia domestic abuse service following reports that teachers were fielding difficult questions from older pupils around consensual behaviour, the presentation was offered to secondary schools in Bridgend county borough last year as part of a pastoral support programme, but only after it had been fully vetted and checked.
“This process included deleting out of date or inaccurate information, updating details to be fully compliant with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, removing some slides altogether, and ensuring that non-fatal strangulation was rightly described as being an illegal, dangerous and criminal act.
“While the updated presentation was offered to all secondary schools, only one school accepted the offer, and it was delivered to an audience of 15–17 year olds in October last year. At no time were any of those pupils informed that it is okay to ‘choke’ somebody as long as you have obtained consent.”
Cllr Martyn Jones, cabinet member for Education and Youth Services, said: “Having looked into this matter closely and after checking all our records and facts, the suggestion that older pupils have been taught to consent to damaging sexual behaviour is simply not true.
“All pastoral advice used by local schools is carefully designed to be age appropriate, and to encourage teenagers who are maturing into young adults to develop healthy, respectful relationships where there is no abuse of any kind.
“It appears that inaccurate information from a draft version of a presentation was shared with the media by individuals who had the best of intentions as they thought it had already been used in classrooms. However, the truth of the matter is that the slides in question had been deleted and updated long before the final version of the presentation was ever delivered.
“This entire affair is a classic example of how misinformation can generate headlines and cause widespread misunderstanding.
“BCBC takes its safeguarding responsibilities very seriously, and we continually monitor all materials aimed at children and young people to ensure that they are age appropriate.
“We do not use inappropriate materials within schools, and anyone who approaches the Assia domestic abuse service regarding this issue will be informed that non-fatal strangulation remains an illegal, dangerous and criminal act.”
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