Sex education in secondary schools is 'outdated' and 'fear based' according to a government report.
The report was commissioned last year by the then Education Minister Richard Bruton to make sure sex education in schools is 'fit for purpose'.
According to the Irish Times, a leaked draft of the document says that the current sex education curriculum is outdated and fear based and involves lessons on abstinence.
It says that there in most cases there is little or no information on consent, LGBT issues or a healthy sex life.
Noeleen Blackwell from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre says 'young people are doing harm to others because they don't understand the basic notions of consent'.
Relationships and Sexuality Education was first introduced in schools up to third year in 1995 and hasn't been updated since.
It's compulsory at junior cycle but inconsistent across many schools in the senior cycle.
The head of the ASTI Breda Lynch says sex education needs to be brought up to date and teachers need new training:
'The whole area of pornography and young people sexting I think for a lot of teachers they're uncomfortable with all of that and to deal with issues like that you need proper training'.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment is meeting on Thursday to discuss the draft report before issuing recommendations to the Department of Education.
