Upcoming events
Teach Us Consent is bringing parents, educators, and industry leaders together for an important conversation on consent, sexual harm prevention, and how we can best equip young people to build respectful relationships. This webinar will combine research insights with actionable solutions to empower adults to have impactful, informed conversations with young people about consent, empathy, and respect. The session will conclude with a live Q&A, offering the chance to engage directly with our speakers.Our guest panel will feature Dr Zac Seidler (Movember), Ged Moriarty (The Man Cave), and Turia Pitt, and facilitated by Teach Us Consent's founder and CEO, Chanel Contos.
Chanel Contos is the Founder & CEO of Teach Us Consent, recipient of the Australian Human Rights Commission Young People’s Medal in 2021, 2023 NSW Young Woman of the Year for persistent efforts towards eradicating rape culture, and BBC’s 100 inspiring and Influential Women Worldwide. Chanel was appointed by Julia Gillard to chair the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership’s Youth Advisory Committee. She is the author of Consent Laid Bare: sex, entitlement, and the distortion of desire.
Dr Zac Seidler is a clinical psychologist, researcher and leading men’s mental health expert. He currently holds dual roles as Global Director of Men’s Health Research at Movember and Associate Professor with Orygen at the University of Melbourne. Zac has dedicated his academic and professional career towards further understanding men’s mental health and masculinity with over 150 published papers and 2 edited books in the field. His ultimate goal is to help reduce the staggering rates of male suicide and domestic violence worldwide.
Turia Pitt is living proof that, with the right mindset, anything is possible. Caught in a grassfire while competing in a 100 km ultramarathon in 2011, Turia suffered full thickness burns to 65 per cent of her body. But surviving is the least of her achievements. One of Australia’s most admired and widely recognised people, Turia has gone on to become a bestselling author, a two-time Ironman and a humanitarian - raising well over a million dollars for not-for-profit Interplast. Through her online presence, books and online programs, Turia has inspired millions to live with more confidence, conquer their fears and chase down their wildest dreams. Turia is the mother to two boys and currently undertaking a Masters of Women's and Children’s Health at UTS.
Born and raised in rural Queensland alongside three older siblings, Ged carries the values of a little brother close to heart: honesty, curiosity, and optimism. While studying Criminology and Criminal Justice, they wrote a thesis amplifying the voices of women experiencing coercive control. This led to work on a project supporting mothers in custody and their children, prioritising the perspectives of First Nations communities. These experiences deepened Ged’s passion for creating spaces where people feel heard, valued, and empowered. Today, their childhood curiosity has evolved into a driving question: How can we support boys and men to live lives free from violence? As the Research and Evaluation Coordinator at The Man Cave, a leading mental health and masculinities charity that empowers teenage boys to become the best version of themselves, Ged helps elevate boys’ lived experiences so we can all thrive in healthier, more connected communities.
Teach Us Consent will be hosting a webinar for Educators on Wednesday, 27 August 2025. We hope to use this time with Educators to share insights from our developmental research, provide an overview of our resources, and reflect on how they are currently being used in classrooms.
The Educators Webinar will be hosted by Chanel Contos, our CEO and will include a discussion with Founder of Teaching Consent, Dr Joy Townsend – a sociologist whose area of expertise is in the field of gender and sexualities. Her work centres on the lived experiences of young Australians as they navigate gender, relationships and sexualities.
Chanel Contos is the Founder & CEO of Teach Us Consent, recipient of the Australian Human Rights Commission Young People’s Medal in 2021, 2023 NSW Young Woman of the Year for persistent efforts towards eradicating rape culture, and BBC’s 100 inspiring and Influential Women Worldwide. Chanel was appointed by Julia Gillard to chair the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership’s Youth Advisory Committee. She is the author of Consent Laid Bare: sex, entitlement, and the distortion of desire.
Dr Joy Townsend is a sociologist whose area of expertise is in the field of gender and sexualities. Her work centres on the lived experiences of young Australians as they navigate gender, relationships and sexualities. Joy is the Founder and CEO of Learning Consent, a global leader in the provision of comprehensive respectful relationships and consent education. Learning Consent continues to partner with leading educational institutions and organisations to deliver cutting edge programs aligned with UNESCO international best-practice for the prevention of sexual and gendered violence.
Tess is an experienced communicator dedicated to fostering positive change. She has half a decade of experience working across start-ups, female-led social enterprises, B-Corps and not-for-profits, as well as consulting social media strategy for purpose-driven individuals. She is committed to using her professional life to create a more equitable and sustainable world.
This webinar brings together Chanel Contos, Professor Ben Mathews and Kaylyn Thyssen to discuss the issue of sexual violence and present practical, evidence-based solutions to support young people develop healthy relationships based on respect, empathy and consent.
Chanel Contos is the Founder & CEO of Teach Us Consent, recipient of the Australian Human Rights Commission Young People’s Medal in 2021, 2023 NSW Young Woman of the Year for persistent efforts towards eradicating rape culture, and BBC’s 100 inspiring and Influential Women Worldwide. Chanel was appointed by Julia Gillard to chair the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership’s Youth Advisory Committee. She is the author of Consent Laid Bare: sex, entitlement, and the distortion of desire.
Ben Mathews is a Distinguished Professor in the School of Law at Queensland University of Technology. For 25 years he has conducted multidisciplinary research into child maltreatment, with child sexual abuse a key area of research expertise. His research has influenced legal and systemic reforms in Australia and overseas to improve ways of preventing, identifying and responding to child sexual abuse. He is Lead Investigator of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.
Kaylyn has over 8 years’ experience as a policy and public impact consultant focussing on supporting key domestic, family and sexual violence sector initiatives. Her skillset includes research, stakeholder engagement and monitoring & evaluation. She has a passion for achieving better outcomes for all communities through promoting equity and inclusivity.
