A Rutgers survey (2020) of 1,000 young people shows that a vast majority of young people (80%) believe that schools should be required to teach students how to recognise and respect boundaries. As many as three-quarters of young people (74%) believe that a new government should invest more in preventing sexual violence. Ton Coenen, director of Rutgers, also recognises the importance of schools: “The government needs to invest much more in better sex education at school.”
At present, the government’s approach is primarily focused on detection and support services. “That is extremely important. Victims must be helped as quickly and as effectively as possible. But without a focus on prevention, it is like mopping up with the tap running, and new victims are added every day. The violence must stop, and that is why we say #TotHier,” says Ton Coenen.
#TotHier
The petition campaign is available at tothier.rutgers.nl. There, anyone can sign the petition and read more about the need to prevent sexual violence in a specially written appeal. The website also shows which victims, thematic organisations and political youth organisations support #tothier.