The Building Respectful Relationships material being trialed in Australian schools seems to be designed to do exactly the opposite.

Relationship Ads

“Students as young as 12 will study sexualised personal ads and write their own advertisements seeking the “perfect partner’’ as part of a new school curriculum supposed to combat family violence.

Teachers are told: “If using your own (dating site or paper) you need to ensure that they reflect a diverse range of ages and sexualities,’’ it says. “Make sure that you look at these (online dating) sites before the students, as you need to ensure they are age-appropriate.

“You will need to explain some abbreviations or get the students to work out what they mean.’’

The guide says the activity is “designed to get students to think about the characteristics of an intimate relationship and how the expectations of this relationship can differ from other types of ­relationships.”

This is way past being a slippery slope.. We are into the full-on nosedive now.