Many have criticized the issue as being manipulated in the run-up to an election. “Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby!”, Salt-N-Pepa said, posing a question that seems to have no place in today’s Great Britain – at least as far as the Prime Minister’s Conservative government is concerned. Rishi Sunak.

The government’s new line makes it clear to schools when they should introduce students to sexuality education: as late as possible. Critics are furious and accuse the conservatives of manipulating the issue ahead of an election. So, instead of the 1991 pop hit, the title of a 1970s comedy seems more appropriate in Great Britain: “No Sex Please, We’re British”.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan’s age standards are aimed at not “exposing children too early”. Students will learn about reproduction from fifth grade and only in a purely scientific context. Subjects such as sexual abuse, revenge pornography, stalking and forced marriage will not be taught before the first year of secondary school, while more specific aspects of sex life, such as intercourse, will not be in any subject before the third year of secondary school. Finally, issues such as transgenderism will never be discussed within the school context. The reason: these are highly controversial issues.

“Parents can have peace of mind once and for all that their children will only be taught age-appropriate things,” said Keegan. The government emphasizes that parents will have full access to the educational program and the content of the lessons, in an updated handbook that “will put the protection of children at the center and secure the right of parents to know what their children are learning”. as the minister emphasizes.

“Education prevents incidents of abuse”

Many experts do not think highly of the new arrangements. Because they fear that in this way children are left unprotected for a very long time, in a society where sex appears more and more, while at the same time access to sexual content is increasingly easy due to the internet. As a representative of the NSPCC organization for the protection of children underlines, “education is one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal to prevent incidents of child abuse”.

The head of the Sex Education Forum, Lucy Emerson, warns that the more information about such issues is limited, the more minors will turn to the internet to find answers to issues such as pornography and sexually transmitted diseases. The End Violence Against Women campaign emphasizes for its part that sexuality education is a “cornerstone for the prevention of violence against women and girls”.

Twice the percentage of pregnant girls compared to Germany

According to a study by the British Commissioner for the Protection of Children, children’s first contact with pornography is on average at the age of 13. At the same time, although the number of pregnant girls in England and Wales has fallen significantly compared to 2011, at 13 pregnancies per 1,000 teenage girls the rate is still more than double that of Germany.

The British government claims that the new measures were necessary due to some “reports of disturbing material” that has been used during lessons. Minister Keegan told BBC Radio 4 that she had heard of lessons in which students were taught that there were many different genders – but admitted that this was not a common occurrence.

Recent opinion polls show a crushing defeat for Sunak’s Conservative Party in the upcoming parliamentary elections. That is why, according to critics, the government is investing in gender politics to attract conservative voters through attacks on the supposed “woke” ideology. of ill-treatment – ​​when we should be focusing on their well-being,” criticizes Pepe Di Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.

Edited by: Giorgos Passas