Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would begin by saying I am so sad to hear that last piece. Ms Exton spoke about pleasure. Dancing is one of the great pleasures in life that gives people a sense of their body and enjoying it. For me, it was a really empowering thing to go dancing and raving when I was young, from when I about 15 or 16 years old. It was really important to me because I got a sense of owning and enjoying my body. It is really sad to hear the idea of that space not being managed properly and not being made a space that is enjoyable and empowering for young women.

We have talked about that culture, but I want to raise two issues. The first of these is the co-educational piece and where the stereotypes that emerge. This question is for Ms Neville, Ms Exton and Mr. Byrne. What is the extent to which stereotypes build up when you do not have that kind of contact and you do not have that exposure? I talked to somebody who, when they were young, remembered that there was a high wall that was oiled between the boys’ school and the girl’s school. There was a message that that sent to girls about boys and to boys about themselves. It was extremely negative. There is that idea of stereotypes that builds up and that overspills into a college environment in the messages that boys and girls are getting about each other. One of the arguments that is often used against co-education is the argument that girls will not be heard in the classroom and that they will be silenced there. It is an interesting issue, because I see that argument being used in the workplace, too. There is the idea that girls need to be more confident and that they will not be confident enough. Much research, as I understand it, shows that the issue is really the teachers. Teachers give boys more attention and more opportunities to answer questions. In fact, addressing that issue is not about separating people by gender. It is about the way teachers make a point of ensuring there is that equal voice in the classroom. Could the witnesses comment on how that issue could be addressed as part of this? The excuse is often used that we need separate schools, because boys would be so distracted, and girls would lack confidence. In fact, that can be addressed through a better classroom culture.

Excellent things have been said already in relation to the RSE curriculum. The witnesses might comment on it. This is an issue that Deputy Carroll MacNeill also highlighted. We note that they are starting with the junior cycle and then they will do the senior cycle. It strikes us that they really should be addressing the curriculum at every level now. This is so that they start improving things at each level now, rather than beginning with junior cycle and then in a few years’ time starting to look at the senior cycle. Do the witnesses have thoughts on that?

Within that issue, there is the importance of not just how we treat the biology and then the consent. Within consent, there is that issue of respect. It is not just a matter of how we treat each other. It is not a kind of mechanical thing, but how we think about each other. Is that a space where the witnesses feel that absorbed stereotypes, clichés and secret assumptions could be addressed?

There is also the point of the wider curriculum. While the RSE and gender sensitive education are important, often in the wider curriculum it can get dropped. I am interested in this. There is much work at the moment around the decolonisation of the curriculum at university level. That is beginning to happen.

There are also women who are Travellers. The witnesses will be aware that my colleagues and I sponsored the Traveller Culture and History in Education Bill. Clichés and stereotypes come through about gender in the mainstream subjects. Sometimes this happens in an intersectional way, for example, with clichés about women in African countries, women of a particular religion and women who are Travellers. We must address those layers of stereotypes in a mainstream curriculum. Do the witnesses have thoughts on whether that is improving? Are there areas where it strikes them that students are saying that it does not feel right?

My last point is on the wider culture in schools, moving outside the classroom. I spoke at one of the ISSU annual conferences. I was struck by the motions the students were putting forward. Even in religious schools, they wanted to have LGBT support spaces or support groups. How important is it to empower students in their voice within schools so that all of those issues can get flagged? We often have a very hierarchical version of that.

I also want to raise the issue of cycling. We know that incredibly low levels of girls cycle, and one of the reasons for that is school uniforms. Another issue is how cycling gets treated and framed in relation to girls. These are examples of the wider school environment, as the witnesses put it so well earlier, and how we can make that an empowering environment that gives people skills and confidence in their wider engagement with the world.