Year 8 · RSHE (PSHE) · beta

Staying safe and healthy: Forced marriage, FGM, hymenoplasty & virginity testing

This unit addresses violence against women and girls, updated to reflect the 2026 RSHE guidance. Pupils learn about FGM, virginity testing, hymenoplasty and forced marriage, understanding the serious harms, legal protections, and how to seek help and report concerns.

This is an attributed Oak National Academy lesson sequence, not a completed or academically approved DASKEREL course. Supporting transcripts may depend on video, images, practical equipment or teacher explanation. Follow each lesson’s supervision guidance. For religious education and RSHE, follow the school’s syllabus, policy and safeguarding procedures.

Prior knowledge

  • Pupils should understand what constitutes respectful relationships, including that everyone has the right to make decisions about their own body and future without coercion.
  • Pupils should be familiar with the concept of consent from earlier learning, recognising that all people deserve bodily autonomy and that forcing someone into harmful practices is abuse.
  • Pupils should know from earlier units how to report concerns to trusted adults and access support, understanding that reporting abuse protects both themselves and others.

Source curriculum references

  • That forced marriage and marrying before the age of 18 are illegal.
  • How to seek help or advice, including reporting concerns about others, if needed.
  • Pupils should understand that in some situations a person might appear trustworthy but have harmful intentions.
  • What constitutes sexual harassment or sexual violence, and that such behaviour is unacceptable, emphasising that it is never the fault of the person experiencing it.
  • The concepts and laws relating to forced marriage.
  • Female genital mutilation (FGM), virginity testing and hymenoplasty can cause serious physical and emotional damage.
  • Pupils should know where to find support and understand the law around FGM, virginity testing and hymenoplasty.
  • It is a criminal offence for anyone to perform or assist in FGM, virginity testing or hymenoplasty, in the UK or abroad.
  • It is also a criminal offence to fail to protect a person under 16 for whom they are responsible from FGM, virginity testing or hymenoplasty.
  • Pupils should understand the circumstances in which someone over 16 may not be deemed to have capacity to make decisions about medical treatment.

Oak source metadata. DASKEREL has not independently verified school-level coverage.

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