Key Points
- Birmingham campaigner Ebony Keeley is supporting a parliamentary bill to make Relationships and Sex Education compulsory for students up to age 18.
- Labour MP for Hitchin Alistair Strathern introduced the Private Member’s Bill to extend mandatory RSE beyond the current 16-year-old age limit.
- Official figures show young people aged 16 to 19 face the highest rates of domestic abuse, despite legal requirements for relationship education ending at 16.
- The Sex Education Forum, End Violence Against Women, Brook, the NSPCC, and Women’s Aid are backing the legislation.
- Killed Women co-founder Carole Gould joined the campaign following the murder of her 17-year-old daughter Ellie by an ex-boyfriend.
Birmingham (Birmingham Express) October 31, 2026 — A prominent Birmingham-based campaigner has publicly backed a historic legislative attempt in the House of Commons to extend compulsory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) in educational institutions across England and Wales to all young people up to the age of 18.
As reported by Birmingham Now, reproductive coercion campaigner Ebony Keeley warned that young people are currently being left vulnerable to toxic relationship patterns, online abuse, and misinformation because legal requirements for schools to teach RSE terminate at the age of 16. Ms Keeley noted that at 16, teenagers face significant transitions into sixth forms, colleges, and employment where exposure to adult relationships and digital risks increases dramatically.
The campaign centres on a Private Member’s Bill introduced in Parliament by Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, which seeks to make post-16 RSE statutory in further education colleges and sixth forms.
“Education isn’t just about exams and careers, it’s about preparing young people for life,” stated Alistair Strathern MP, as reported on his parliamentary platform. “This Bill is about giving every young person the tools to recognise danger, seek help and build relationships based on respect. That knowledge can change lives—and, in some cases, save them.”
Why Is the Extension of Mandatory RSE to Age 18 Being Demanded?
Under existing Department for Education regulations, secondary schools in England are required to provide Relationships and Sex Education only up to the age of 16. Campaigners contend that this legal cutoff creates a dangerous void at the precise period when teenagers encounter complex relationship dynamics, coercive control, and elevated risks of domestic abuse.
National statistics published alongside the campaign indicate that approximately 3.8 million individuals aged 16 and over in the UK experienced domestic abuse in the past year, with young people aged 16 to 19 suffering the highest rates of victimization. Furthermore, over 600,000 students enter further education each year without statutory provision ensuring they receive guidance on recognising red flags, healthy communication, or consent.
As reported by Alistair Strathern MP’s publication, Carole Gould, co-founder of the campaign group Killed Women, shared the personal context behind her support for the bill after her 17-year-old daughter Ellie was murdered by an ex-boyfriend.
“As a mother you just want to protect your child,” Carole Gould stated, as reported by Alistair Strathern MP. “The coercive control my daughter experienced in her first relationship was so subtle we ALL failed to recognise the red flags and the danger she was in.”
How Are Campaigners and Organisations Supporting the Proposed Bill?
The bid to reform post-16 education has assembled a broad coalition of advocacy groups, education unions, and anti-violence organisations. Groups supporting the proposal alongside Ebony Keeley include the Sex Education Forum, End Violence Against Women (EVAW) Coalition, Brook, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), and Women’s Aid.
Advocates point out that young people today navigate online spaces filled with AI-generated sexual deepfakes, violent pornography, and misogynistic influencers. Without formal educational frameworks continuing through age 18, campaigners argue that young people rely heavily on unverified online sources to learn about intimacy and interpersonal dynamics.
The campaign group Killed Women has released resource materials, including The Unofficial Curriculum, to inform the public about the warning signs of abusive relationships, while urging citizens to write to their local Members of Parliament to vote in favour of the bill.
Background of the Post-16 RSE Development
Statutory Relationships Education for primary schools and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) for secondary schools were first introduced across England in September 2020 following revisions to the Children and Social Work Act 2017.
While this policy made RSE compulsory for all state-funded secondary school pupils until key stage 4, it did not extend statutory duties to post-16 education, such as sixth-form colleges, further education (FE) colleges, or apprenticeship providers.
Over subsequent years, sector bodies such as the Sex Education Forum continuously highlighted the gaps in post-16 guidance. In response to rising reports of peer-on-peer sexual harassment in educational settings and high-profile domestic homicides involving teenagers, calls grew to modernise the national curriculum.
The UK Government previously signalled intent within its national strategies to address violence against women and girls, including commitments in post-16 pathway plans to evaluate relationship guidance. The introduction of Alistair Strathern’s Private Member’s Bill represents the first direct legislative proposal brought before Parliament to formally mandate RSE across all educational institutions catering to 16- to 18-year-olds.
Prediction: How This Development Can Affect Students, Educators, and Educational Institutions
If Alistair Strathern’s Private Member’s Bill is enacted into law, it will fundamentally alter the operational and curricular framework for post-16 educational providers across England and Wales.
For students aged 16 to 18, compulsory RSE will establish standardized access to age-appropriate instruction on relationship safety, legal consent, digital privacy, and recognizing coercive control. This educational access aims to reduce instances of domestic abuse, sexual harassment, and technology-facilitated harm among young adults during critical developmental transitions.
For colleges, sixth forms, and further education providers, the passage of the bill will require the integration of statutory RSE modules into existing timetables. Management teams will need to allocate dedicated curriculum time, establish clear parental and student communication policies, and invest in specialized training for teaching staff to deliver sensitive topics effectively.
For policymakers and advocacy groups, successful passage of the legislation will formalize a continuous health and relationship safeguards framework spanning from primary education up to adulthood at age 18.
