Two health lecturers say relationship and sexuality education should begin with five-year-olds, in order to build a strong foundation for fundamental relationship skills.
Canterbury University faculty of health lecturer Tracy Clelland told AM relationship education needs to start from year one so further education is made easier.
"If you want to talk with teenagers about consent and relationships, those skills need to have been scaffolded from year one upwards," she said.
"If we are starting relationship education from year one, young people are learning the skills to navigate a whole wide range of relationships, from childhood right through then teens, right through then to adulthood."
And beginning with education from a young age can be as simple as learning about taking turns with toys.
"Learning about taking turns, about caring for a partner like a friend, showing respect, asking to borrow their things. You know fundamental relationship skills."
Fellow lecturer Rachael Dixon understands the realistic expectation for all schools to teach SRE is made complicated by the lack of resources and time.
"We really want at the end of the day for our young people to come out as critical thinkers, critical producers as well as consumers of the knowledge that they make and see out there in the world."
Clelland said a change in language from sex education to SRE is important as it "puts relationships at the front of education".
"Now we use the term relationship and sexuality education and I think it's really important that all of us start using those terms correctly."
It comes after a report into the matter at Avonside Girls High School last week found 21 current students had either been raped or had come close to being raped.
Watch the full interview above.
