“What we’re calling for today is really high quality lessons and sessions from trained teachers or youth workers on how to stay safe in relationships,” said Mr Yates.
While schools do teach lessons on healthy relationships, the survey suggests topics such as consent may not be reaching those who most need it.
Martha, 18, from near Manchester, is on the YEF’s Youth Advisory Board. She said other pupils would skip sex and relationships education more than other lessons, due to a lack of consequences.
She added there was still a lot of stigma around talking about less healthy relationships.
“We’re told what an unhealthy relationship is like, but at no point did they tell us what a good one is,” she said.
Fellow advisory board member Hanzala Minhas, 19, from Bradford, is currently studying in Cornwall.
He said: “You don’t want young adults going into the future where they feel like these kinds of behaviours are the norm, because they’re not and I feel like it’s going to affect society as a whole because people will feel like they can’t get into healthy relationships.”
