[ 2014-01-27 ]

Boys need to be taught how to treat girls
Sex education should be compulsory at secondary
schools to teach boys to respect girls, according
to prominent campaigners.
Boys and young men appear to be getting their
education about sex and relationships from
internet pornography, the group says, leading to
sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.
In a letter to The Times today, the group, which
includes the influential Mumsnet forum, says that
schools are in the best position to address the
problem, helping girls to protect themselves
against unwanted advances and abuse, and educating
boys to develop a more respectful attitude.
One in three girls is groped or has some other
form of unwanted sexual touching at school, the
letter says. Easy access to online pornography,
which is often violent, has resulted in many young
men believing that this sort of sex is the norm,
it adds.
State comprehensives are required to provide sex
education, although critics say that lessons have
not kept pace with new technology. However, the
majority of schools are now academies, which are
under no obligation to tackle the subject at all.
An amendment requiring all schools that receive
state funding to educate pupils on these matters
will be tabled tomorrow in the House of Lords and
the letter urges minsters to make it law.
It says that while some schools offer excellent
lessons, “this is not the case in all schools at
present and we have seen a swath of recent reports
and cases highlighting how tackling abuse and
exploitation is extremely patchy.
“In an age of one-click-away violent and
degrading pornography online that is becoming the
default sex-educator for some young people, this
is woefully inadequate,” the letter says. It
has
been signed by the heads of leading domestic
violence charities, academics, Laura Bates,
founder of the new Everyday Sexism campaign, and
Justine Roberts, chief executive of Mumsnet. She
said that current sex education guidelines were
woefully out of date, having last been rewritten
14 years ago.
“Since then internet use has grown exponentially
and the lack of reference to the internet, online
bullying or mobile technology in the guidelines
seems hopelessly out of touch,” she said.
“Four in five of our users think sex education
should address issues like pornography and
sexting, and from a relatively young age.”
The letter comes as sexual harassment has leapt up
the political agenda, with senior Liberal
Democrats struggling over allegations against Lord
Rennard, the election strategist. However, Michael
Gove, the Education Secretary, opposes compulsory
sex education in his academies.
The Department of Education said teachers were in
the best position to decide how to tackle these
issues. “Our reforms have . . . given teachers
the freedom to tailor their teaching so it meets
the needs of their pupils, as we believe it is
they who know pupils best — not politicians.”

Source - The Times, UK

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