Educators are concerned about negative effects from a Saskatchewan government directive on sex education. Last August, the province suspended third-party sex education classes at schools.
The temporary directive is still in effect and continues to be examined, indicates by email the spokesperson for the provincial ministry of Education.
The education and awareness coordinator at the Saskatoon Sexual Assault and Information Center (SSAIC), Morgan Price, believes that preventing an organization like hers from working in schools will worsen an already worrying situation.
Saskatchewan has one of the highest rates of sexual violence, especially among young people, she explains.
Many studies show that consent education is absolutely necessary to reduce rates of sexual violence, she continues.
For almost 20 years, SSAIC has offered sex education classes to teachers and students, in collaboration with public and Catholic school divisions in Saskatoon.
As part of the directive, the presentation of its program on consent was canceled in schools.
This sexual violence education and prevention program is aimed at 8th grade students, explains Ms. Price. It includes lesson plans for teachers on consent, boundaries, and healthy relationships.
The organization estimated that it could offer its program to 3,850 7th and 8th grade students in 2023. According to Morgan Price, with the implementation of the government directive, only 258 young people were able to access it in 2023 through community activities offered outside of class.
Risk for sexual violence
The executive director of the Saskatoon Sexual Health Centre, Caitlin Cottrell, adds that Saskatchewan leads in Canada for several consequences of the lack of sex education.
Lack of sex education about consent, boundaries, and healthy relationships will lead to more sexual assault.
On the other hand, she expresses concern about the possible increase in unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
We have the highest rates of HIV per capita, the highest rates of hepatitis, she says. We have the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the country.
The national average for HIV is 4.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In Saskatchewan, we have 20.3 cases per 100,000 people, almost four times as many. In Saskatoon, we are the concentrated point in the country with 160 cases of HIV per 100,000 people, specifies Caitlin Cottrell.
She adds that cases of infectious syphilis increased by 1,700% between 2017 and 2022, from eight cases per 100,000 inhabitants to 1,940 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021.
Caitlin Cottrell believes the government is creating an educational environment in which students are not adequately prepared.
With information from Kendall Latimer
2023-12-20 16:41:53
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