Talking about sexuality in school is a must, no offense to Eric Zemmour

We need to talk about sex education at school.

While Éric Zemmour accuses him of wanting to give gender lessons in schools, the Minister of Education Pap Ndiaye recalls that sex education has been compulsory since 2001. This access to information plays an important role in the fight against sexist discrimination and LGBT phobias.

The importance of sex education in school

Sex education is still the subject of many fantasies. Its opponents shout again and again at the Wokist propaganda and accuse the National Education of wanting to indoctrinate young people.

Pap Ndiaye reminds us, however: sex education courses taught by primary to high school can effectively reduce the number of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. They also make it possible to combat sexual discrimination and LGBT phobias.

We remind critics of these measures that, in theory, sex education has been compulsory in schools since 2001, at the rate of three sessions per year. These sessions are particularly adapted to the age of the audience. A thousand miles away from the disappointments of certain conservative polemics who accuse public schools of perverting children …

A difficult measure to apply

At least in practice. These sex education courses, although mandatory, are not always provided. There are major disparities from one institution to another, depending on the means and will of each, as noted in a report published in 2016 by the High Council for Equality between Women and Men:

The effective application of legal obligations regarding sex education in the school environment is still fragmented, unequal depending on the territory, because it depends on individual benevolence. It is, according to the point of view of some actors, unsuitable for the reality of young people.

If Pap Ndiaye seems committed to fighting gender inequality and sexist violence at school, sex education is still a long way from hitting all students. We hope that measures will be quickly put in place to ensure they have full access to the information they are entitled to.

Photo credit image of one: Kamonwan Wankaew