WATCH: Chanel Contos gives an important message this International Women’s Day.
But, who is the girl who is literally making headlines and having convos with school principals? Keep reading to find out.
Who is Chanel Contos?
Chanel Contos is a former student of Kambala girls in Sydney and a UNSW tutor residing in London, England. More importantly, however, she’s the creator of Teach Us Consent movement and inspired a national conversation in Australia around consent and the lack of education on the topic in schools.
Why is Chanel Contos in the news?
On the 22nd of February, Chanel Contos shared a poll on her Instagram, @chanelc, that asked if any girls from Sydney had experienced - or knew someone who had experienced sexual assault or had their consent abused by boys from all-boys private schools.
Shockingly, she was met with a resounding 70 percent saying yes, which then inspired her to create a Google doc for people to share their testimonies - which now sits at over 17,000 individual victims’ stories.
Then, she created a petition called Teach Us Consent, calling for the Australian government to teach consent in the school curriculum earlier than year 10. Since then, she’s met with school principals and been on a number of TV programs from The Project to The Today Show to talk about her activism.
WATCH: Chanel Contos shares her own story on The Project
How old is Chanel Contos?
According to a recent interview with Sydney Morning Herald, Chanel Contos is 23 years old.
What is the Teach Us Consent petition?
Teach Us Consent is a petition penned by Chanel Contos which aims to convince the Australian government to introduce lessons about consent, rape, and sexual assault at school earlier than year 10.
"This petition and its accompanying testimonies will be presented to MPs around the country to advocate for holistic sexuality education earlier in the school curriculum," the official website explains.
You can learn more and sign the petition here.
Doing so, Contos and many believe, will minimise sexual assault and harassment among young people simply because we will be taught the tools needed to learn to respect each other’s boundaries and ask for consent.
WATCH: Saxon Mullins on what we need to know about consent
What school did Chanel Contos go to?
Chanel Contos attended The Kambala Church of England Girls’ School, an independent private girls school in the Eastern Sydney suburb of Rose Bay.
According to her LinkedIn, she graduated in 2014 before pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce/Arts, Information Systems and Development Studies at UNSW.
Where did Chanel Contos grow up?
According to Sydney Morning Herald, Chanel Contos grew up in Vaucluse, in Sydney’s east, where she went to a local primary school before she started at Kambala in Year 5.
What is Chanel Contos studying?
Chanel Contos studied Commerce/Arts, Information Systems and Development Studies at UNSW, and is currently studying a Master of Education, Gender and International Development and International Global Studies at the University College of London.
We don’t know about you but that’s pretty fitting if you ask us, especially after her recent video message calling to end rape culture this International Women’s Day.
