Legal advocacy group ADF International has warned that inappropriate and potentially harmful sex education is being pushed on children by worldwide bodies such as the United Nations.
Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) has been promoted since the 1960 in an effort, ADF argues, to counter the harmful effects of the sexual revolution – sexually transmitted diseases, and teenage and unwanted pregnancies.
However, it has also been used to shape the views of children about sex, often behind the backs of parents.
ADF pointed to one case it had taken on in Australia. Nicki Gaylard is taking legal action against the country’s Department of Education following a sex education lesson that left her 14-year-old daughter traumatised.
The lesson, which allegedly featured sexually explicit material, graphic references, and mentions of incest and bestiality, was provided by a third party group known as Headspace Berri.
According to Guardian, Headspace reviewed the incident and said that “while the presentation was intended to promote LGBTIQA+ inclusivity and acceptance and acknowledge the historical and continuing discrimination this community faces, there were aspects of the presentation that were not appropriate for young people”.
According to Gaylard, Headspace refused to share the materials used in the class. She also said that the class had damaged the relationship between her daughter and her siblings.
“How can they be happy to show to children what they are ashamed to show to adults? Let children be children,” Gaylard told ADF.
ADF said that UN agencies had developed international guidelines on CSE based on age group.
Under the guidance children as young as nine can be taught about masturbation and sexual stimulation and can be encouraged to “question social and cultural norms that impact sexual behaviour in society”.
ADF said, "In classrooms across the globe, a quiet yet burgeoning campaign is underway to shape what children as young as 5 are taught about sex, relationships, and their own bodies.
"It is being driven by some of the world’s most influential institutions such as the UN, while parents, legal guardians, and the wider public are kept largely in the dark about what is happening behind school walls."
It added, “Exposing children to premature or explicit sexual content does not empower them — it harms them. In the case of CSE, the language of 'empowerment' is being cleverly used to guise material that, if delivered by anyone other than a credentialed teacher in an institutional setting, would be recognised immediately as inappropriate.”
