Our children are being sexualised - and sex education is part of the problem

 (Photo: Unsplash)

Christians have been warning for years about the sexualisation of school children.

The fact is, the sex education industry needs to take its share of the blame because it is obsessed with explicitness and hostile to the Christian sexual ethic.

They send very mixed messages to school children, encouraging sexual experimentation and normalising pornography at the same time as trying to tackle sexual harassment.

If kids are being told in school that using pornography is normal and healthy, as many sex education professionals say, how can we be surprised when they use it and then try to act it out?

As sex education gets ever more explicit and more opposed to any boundaries around sexual 'self-expression', it can help to normalise the very abuses it claims to prevent.

It's time the Government made space in sex education for a diversity of opinions instead of the monolithic socially liberal agenda that currently dominates.

Christians should be allowed opportunities to explain the benefits of self-control and the joys of marriage.

The law already directs schools to teach "the nature of marriage and civil partnership and their importance for family life and the bringing up of children" and to provide relationships and sex education which "is appropriate having regard to the age and the religious background of the pupils".

Ofsted needs to ensure this happens. This would at least allow children to hear a range of views and make up their own minds.

Simon Calvert is Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute.

News
Chris Pratt says Jesus is essential to his life
Chris Pratt says Jesus is essential to his life

Hollywood actor Chris Pratt continues to boldly affirm his Christian faith, most recently by naming Jesus as one of the top things he simply cannot live without. 

Cathedrals Cycle Relay concludes in Bradford after 2,000 miles
Cathedrals Cycle Relay concludes in Bradford after 2,000 miles

The 2,000-mile journey connected more than 40 cathedrals across the UK.

Four ways to change how Christians are portrayed in the media
Four ways to change how Christians are portrayed in the media

National denominations and big Christian organisations can do so much – but motivated local churches, seeking to win coverage on their doorsteps, could help transform how the Church is perceived across the country and beyond.

London resident threatens to sue council over trans display
London resident threatens to sue council over trans display

The display was made in honour of the controversial Tavistock clinic