The Importance and Controversy Surrounding Sex Education in Schools

Schools burned in Belgium, parents insulting teachers, demonstrations denouncing pmotion of pedophilia: The sex education provided to children and adolescents as part of their schooling continues to agitate public opinion.

In France, it has been compulsory for more than twenty years: “since 2001, the law provides for 36 sessions of education on emotional, relational and sexual life (EARS) in total for each student from CP to final year”, recalls the latest OpinionWay survey for the Apprentis d’Auteuil foundation.

And if we are to believe the figures revealed by this survey, in 2023, 16-20 year olds would have benefited from only 3.2 EARS sessions over their entire schooling, covering only anatomy, contraception or even pregnancy, to the detriment of subjects such as respect, consent, assault or even the feeling of love, laments the report published on October 12, 2023.

However, almost 1 in 2 girls admit to having already agreed to have sex “to please” even if they did not want to, and 69% of boys think that when you are in a relationship, you “must” have sexual relations.

Edwige Fleury, nurse, sex therapist and owner of the Instagram account @wicul_ which works for benevolent and enlightened sexuality, explains to us why sexuality education is so divisive.

Marie Claire : Despite the 2001 law which requires sexual, emotional and relationship education at school, middle school and high school, establishments often turn a deaf ear. Why was it initially decided to offer these courses?

Edwige Fleury : “It must be taken into consideration that the main global sex educator today is free pornography and mainstream. The one which shows a sexuality which is exempt from consent, a violent, sexist sexuality, where the representation of bodies is not diversified. These are white and standardized bodies where North African or black bodies are fetishized.

So we must counterbalance these porn videos available to young people, on average from the age of 11, and this “information” that they deliver. Because if young people watch, it is mainly to find out.

However, a child does not necessarily want to talk about his sexuality to his parents, and parents are sometimes uncomfortable talking about it with their children. It should also be understood that some teenagers do not want us to enter into their privacy.

Sometimes it’s easier to talk to a third party. Good, when the third party in question is the SVT teacher, imposed by the establishment, it is not necessarily better.

The State must take its responsibilities. Since 2001, legally, we must have three hours of sex education per year, from primary to high school. And with an external speaker, who knows how to speak to young people educationally, it would be better.

Why is it so important to provide sexuality education to young people?

We must intervene early with children and young people to address the issue of consent and respect for the body. You have to be able to explain to them that their body belongs to them, and teach them how to set limits, tell them that you have the right to say “no” to a kiss or a hug when you don’t want to.

It must be remembered that 1 in 10 children are victims of incest. If we don’t teach them early that there is inappropriate behavior, they will rely on what is happening at home and it will then become difficult for them to understand what is “ok” and what is not. is not.

Proper sex education creates a more inclusive and respectful society. Its role is to prevent risky behavior among children and adolescents, particularly the risk of sexual assault, rape and discrimination.

But II would like us to push education even further, when the age is obviously appropriate, to talk about sexual pleasure. Its my Instagram @wicul_ I provide sexuality education for all ages, up to even 75 years old. This education sometimes breaks into one’s life: we realize that we did not know our body, nor pleasure. However, uFulfilling sexuality is a fundamental right.

The news of recent months has shown it: the subject is talked about a lot, and not only in France. In Belgium in particular, some schools were set on fire. Why does sex education crystallize so much violence and indignation?

People confuse sexuality and modesty: however, it is a question of general, anatomical, psychological, physiological culture. They have a false idea of ​​what sex education classes are like, they fantasize about what one might say. They imagine that children are taught to give blowjobs.

But that’s not sex education.

People who are opposed and who react negatively, it is also because sexuality education calls into question established standards. Some people, advantaged by current societal imbalances, are afraid of losing their privileges.

In sex education classes, we must be able to address the issue of discrimination, sexist and sexual violence, inclusion, LGBTQI+ which challenge questions the established norm of heterosexuality. There is a mixture of fear, a desire to maintain one’s privileges without forgetting the laziness of questioning oneself.

Obviously social networks also contribute to the fact that this subject is igniting so quickly in society. Sometimes there is simply a severe lack of information around these courses: why don’t we set up national campaigns, before it happens in establishments?

What solutions do you think should be put in place to calm the debate?

If we established more dialogue, if we could, for example, present the sex education program to families in advance, I think that could help.

We could, for example, go with a school bus in front of the establishments, to talk with parents, adolescents, to think together. We must involve families in what they want to be told to their children or not, and this can only happen through dialogue.

This is how we do education on the networks: little stone by little stone. I have been speaker and “sex” expert for Netflix when the final season of the series was released Sex Education : we created around twenty pieces of content on social networks. We were able to reach a very wide audience. We should do more cute outreach like this and target more teenagers and young adults.

The media also need to take up the subject. The more it is trivialized, the more sexuality will become a subject like any other.

Other possible avenues: train all personnel in contact with young people, such as educators of young children, school and university teachers or health professionals such as child psychiatrists. We cannot do sex education without having the knowledge and the keys to talking about it.

The people who give these sex education classes must be willing to do so: talking about sexuality with embarrassment perpetuates the idea that it is a subject that is embarrassing.”