Pre Elodie’s Report

Thank you for the opportunity to report back on yesterday’s session on “Protecting children from violence through age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education.”  I will briefly outline the structure of session, then Elodie will share her report on the proceedings, and I will highlight two points that have not already been mentioned by Elodie.

The session yesterday was divided into three sections.  In the first, the broader context was set with the Chair of the CDENF and two speakers.  They set out their experiences of working with young people who were sexually abused, of teaching young people about consent and autonomy in an age-appropriate way, and of the benefits of sexuality education.  The second section was delivered by young people who were involved in the child consultations, and the final section was a Q&A with young people posing questions that were answered by various experts.

I hand the floor over to Elodie now.

Elodie’s Report

The session yesterday opened my eyes even more to what a big issue not providing comprehensive sexuality education is and how much needs to be done.  All young people need comprehensive sexuality education.  In fact it is legally required because this education protects the rights of children and young people to life, to health, to education, to equality, and to be free from violence.  As Elina Stevall said, we really shouldn’t even be having a discussion about whether young people should have access to comprehensive sexuality education because it’s a basic human right.

Statistically sexual violence can happen to any child regardless of socio-economic background, religion or culture.  This is why it is so important that every child is given access to this education.  This education can be adapted to meet the needs of particular groups of students, as happens in the Netherlands, but these adaptations should not be at the expense of the content of the education.  Research with young people from religious communities, who are vulnerable to missing out on sexuality education, has emphasised that they want this education too.  Their religious beliefs don’t protect them from sexual and other forms of violence because they live in a society where they are being exposed to these forms of violence.  They also note that they live with the contradictions of what their religion teaches and what others practice in various areas of daily life so there’s no reason to treat sexuality education differently. 

This education is also life-saving.  Sara Alaoui spoke about how she realised that she was being abused by her father because of the education she received in school.  A number of the speakers talked about how this education helps young people to recognise abuse and the space to find someone to talk to about it.  Sometimes where a family member is the abuser, it can be difficult for the young person to go to their parent.  I learned that children and young people who have received sexuality education are five times more likely to report experiences of sexual abuse.

As noted by Denis, one of the young people who presented, we all will be involved in relationships at some point which is why this education is so important, maybe even more important than trigonometry.  We need to learn about consent, our feelings, how to interact safely with one another.  This is important to protect us from unhealthy relationship and to help us know what a good relationship is. 

Some findings from the child consultations were shared.  In total 79 children from 6 countries who were aged between 9 and 22 years old were consulted.  The key takeaways from these consultations were:

·       They want sexuality education to be formalised so it doesn’t vary from school to school.

·       They want it taught by properly trained impartial teachers. 

·       They want it from early ages because it can be taught in an age-appropriate way.  I was particularly struck by the contribution from Lolita Rive who spoke about teaching 4 year olds about autonomy and how this resulted in identifying children who were being abused.

·       They also want their parents provided with resources and support so they can talk to their children about these topics.  A number of the young people spoke about feeling like they were teaching their parents.  

·       They also want inclusive education about different sexualities and gender identities in an age-appropriate way.

It was clear from the contributions that comprehensive sexuality education creates a safe space for us to talk about these issues which are difficult.  It reduces the taboo around them.  And it counters incorrect information that we can find easily online.  The digital world, including AI content, is not always a trustworthy source of information.

To conclude, it is very important that children and young people are included in these discussions and decisions at local, national and international levels.   We are the ones who have to live with the results of whatever education we are given.  It has to be meaningful and reflect our experiences and answer our needs to help end violence against us.

Post Elodie’s Report

Thanks to Elodie for her report on yesterday’s proceedings.  I have very little to add other than I’d like to highlight two further points that were made by the presenters and speakers yesterday.

The first is one that was made by two presenters, Sara Alaoui and Helen Beckett.  Both emphasised the importance of being careful in how age-appropriate relationship and sexuality education is framed.  Sara was concerned that the focus on prevention could place responsibility on the child to keep themselves safe.  The consequence of this framing was reported by Helen:when something happened, young victims felt it was their fault because they hadn’t done what they were told.  They felt that they couldn’t seek help or report what was done to them because they feared being blamed.

 

The second is that CSE needs to be delivered throughout a child’s school career.  Loris, who reported on the child consultations with young people from Italy and Ireland, emphasised that CSE should be at the very centre of the school curriculum because school is where you learn how to interact with others and how to prepare to become an adult.  It has to be seen as a fundamental component of training responsible citizens because it can help produce a more healthy, fair and respectful society.

To conclude, ensuring effective sexuality education means systematically training professionals, providing resources and supports to parents to encourage open dialogue with their children, involving children in the development and review of curricula, and viewing sexuality education fundamentally as a human right that protects children and adolescents from violence whether engaged in by other young people or adults.