For now, the authors of the program proceed from the fact that modern children cannot protect themselves from these topics, which means that they must assume the authority to discuss them.
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Last week in Belgium, unknown assailants set fire to six schools in the Walloon region, protesting against the introduction of mandatory sex education classes for schoolchildren. No one has claimed responsibility for the fire and no suspects have been arrested, but graffiti against the new EVRAS program was found at the crime scene. Prime Minister De Croo condemned the attacks and ordered the body in charge of processing intelligence information on “terrorism, extremism and radicalization” to analyze the situation.
EVRAS is a Belgian educational program for schoolchildren in the field of emotional and sexual relationships, designed for children from 5 to 18 years old and which has existed since 2012 in the form of elective subjects. Starting this school year, the Wallonia region has introduced into the school curriculum mandatory seminars for schoolchildren aged 11 to 12 and 15 to 16 (2 hours per year), in which intimate topics are discussed with adolescents.
The news of such knowledge caused a stir on social media and angered some parents, especially those in the Catholic and Muslim communities. Over the weekend, a demonstration against EVRAS took place in Brussels, attended by more than a thousand people holding signs reading “Hands off the children!” The petition to abolish sex education in schools has received around 13 thousand signatures. Parent chats are outraged and send messages that children will be shown pornography and persuaded to change their orientation. The country’s popular black rapper, Rohff, addressed his audience of one million people on social media: “If you refuse to allow your 5-year-old sons and nephews to be taught masturbation, be taught about sex and pornography at 9 years old Quickly sign this petition!
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that sex education has been taught in Belgium for half a century and warned that the country would not take any steps back. “This is not new, it is the basis of sexual health, but also the basis for our children to know their rights and (physical) integrity,” he added. Other officials attempted to refute the rumors. “I would like to urge everyone to calm down and try once again to debunk the lies that are being spread about the EVRAS system,” said Caroline Désir, Minister of Education for the Wallonia region. “No, the program is not preparing a system of pedophiles. No, she does not plan to force the children to change their gender. No, the company has no plans to teach children how to have sex.” Authorities also say a “fake news campaign” has been launched that plays on parents’ emotions by spreading absurd claims that these lessons will show pornography and teach children to masturbate.
The main cause for alarm was the new 350-page EVRAS teacher manual, which contained controversial recommendations. For example, with children 9-11 years old it is proposed to discuss how to send intimate photographs correctly (do it by mutual agreement, do not send photographs of other people without permission, understand that this may cause excitement in the recipient, take photographs in such a way that Don’t compromise in case of frame leaks). However, there are also more innocuous topics: the management of emotions, self-esteem, the role of the family and the separation of parents.
Faced with this reaction, Caroline Désir demanded that the controversial passages be reformulated. The program’s authors also point out that the manual is not a textbook for children, but rather a reference sheet for specialists with a list of possible questions that children may have. As the compilers of the “manual” justify, all topics were selected taking into account surveys of schoolchildren and other studies. Therefore, a conversation about masturbation is supposed to be discussed with adolescents aged 9 to 11, because it is supposedly in this age group that interest in these types of practices appears. Talking about pornography without showing it, on the contrary, should form a critical attitude among schoolchildren towards this genre.
While the authors of the program proceed from the fact that modern children cannot be protected from these topics, so they must assume the authority to discuss them, opponents say that this can lead to sexual promiscuity among adolescents. The initiator of the petition against sex education classes, child psychologist Sophie Deschenes, explained her position in Le Figaro: “Many of the advice offered there is not suitable for children of the specified age. In fact, our duty is to protect children from adults’ attitudes towards sexuality, while in the program the idea of self-determination prevails: the child can ask whatever questions she wants and the adults must answer directly. There are no longer any restrictions, we can only respond mechanically to children’s curiosity. In my opinion, this is the exact opposite of what education should be.”
