A recent legislative proposal in Florida would prohibit the teaching of ‘acquired immune deficiency syndrome, sexually transmitted diseases, or health education when such instruction and course material contains instruction in human sexuality.’ As the media has pointed out, this would prohibit teaching about menstruation in elementary school, despite the fact that many girls begin to menstruate before the age of 12.
The bill also requires that sex education must teach that:
- ‘sex is determined by biology and reproductive function at birth’;
- ‘abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage as the expected standard for all school-age students; and
- ‘the benefits of monogamous heterosexual marriage.’
This law is part of a larger movement gaining speed in the US, and other parts of the world, that is seeking to roll back equal human rights of women and persons with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Its central aim is to advance an exceptionally narrow vision of gender and sexuality which restricts these facets of life to monogamous heterosexual marriages.
Controlling children’s access to education has become the primary site for advancing this conservative ideology. However, children have a right to comprehensive sex education at every level of education and the content of sex education should reflect and amplify human rights norms and values. Failing to adopt a human-rights-based approach to sex education deprives children of the right to knowledge about their own bodies and the information they need to make healthy and safe decisions.
Under international human rights law, children possess a range of rights that are fulfilled by access to comprehensive sex education. This includes the right to life, the right to education, the right to health, the right to be equal and the right to be free from violence. The UN treaty bodies stress that these rights are undermined when age-appropriate comprehensive sex education is not provided.
Children have a right to learn about how their bodies work, they have a right to learn about how to keep themselves safe, they have the right to knowledge to make an informed decision on the relationships they want to be in.
Dr Meghan Campbell, University of Birmingham
Crucially, ‘age-appropriate’ does not mean removing comprehensive sex education from elementary school. The UN Population Fund explains that comprehensive sex education should ‘begin as early as possible’ so as to ‘foster mature decision making…and to ameliorate gender inequality.’ UNESCO similarly advocates that the content of comprehensive sex education must ‘be responsive to changing needs and capabilities of the child and the young person as they grow.’ Children are aware of intimate relationships ‘before they act on their sexuality and [they] need the skills and knowledge to understand their bodies, relationships and feelings from an early age.’ As UNESCO points out age-appropriate comprehensive sex education can ensure children understand the correct names for body parts, the principles of reproduction, the diversity and equal worth of family and intimate relationships, the importance of gender equality, the characteristics of healthy and non-abusive relationships and the importance of preventing and reporting sexual abuse. The proposed legislation in Florida makes achieving these vital learning outcomes impossible and doing so violates the human rights of children.
The proposed legislation also seeks to confine sex education in a manner that does not respect the diversity of sexual relationships. Comprehensive sex education should be grounded in human rights, especially the right to equality, as it can be a powerful tool due destigmatize such things as menstruation, and women’s sexual agency and ensure that diversity in sexual orientation and gender identity is celebrated. Comprehensive sex education can be a powerful tool to dismantle dominant, oppressive and exclusionary norms on gender and sexuality. As the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education explained, sex education ‘must be free of prejudice and stereotypes that could be used to justify discrimination and violence against any group it must therefore include a gender perspective that encourages people to think critically about the world around them’. The Florida bill with its emphasis on abstinence, heterosexuality and sexuality within marriage perpetuates discrimination against women and persons with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.
Children have a right to learn about how their bodies work, they have a right to learn about how to keep themselves safe, and they have the right to knowledge to make an informed decision on the relationships they want to be in. Challenging laws can be difficult, and the public discourse on sex education can be passionate and intense, but the fundamental value of age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education for breaking patriarchy, transphobia, homophobia and ableism makes challenging these laws vital.
