Why attacking sex-ed is bad for our kids
Inclusive discussion of LGBT identity is being targeted, Fae Johnstone writes.
Twenty years ago, gay marriage was illegal and Snapchat did not exist. Despite radical changes in societal views on sexuality, Ontario’s minister of education announced Wednesday that students will now be taught sex-ed using the 1998 curriculum instead of the curriculum updated by the Liberal government in 2015. This means that Ontario’s children and youth heading to school this September will be getting their sex education from a curriculum two decades out of date. Our government is demonstrating they’re more comfortable with kids learning outdated sexual health information than with the basics of LGBTQ+ inclusion.
The repeal of the sex-ed curriculum is dangerous. The hashtag #sexedsaveslives has emerged on Twitter as a result of outraged citizens expressing their shock and dismay.
In revoking the updated curriculum, our government is demonstrating that it is entirely comfortable catering to the demands of a small but vocal minority of Ontarians who are opposed to the very concept of comprehensive sex education, let alone sex education that includes LGBTQ+ communities.
Over the course of the past few months, as we saw Doug Ford ascend to leadership of the Progressive Conservatives, then to the premiership of Ontario, his party has hidden behind rhetoric that the 2015 sex-ed update was enacted without sufficient parent engagement and was driven by liberal ideology rather than evidence. This rhetoric is categorically false and intended to do nothing more than shore up party support among social conservative factions, at the cost of Ontario’s children and youth.
Despite this PC rhetoric, the current curriculum was reviewed by more than 4,000 parents from communities across Ontario, 2,400 educators and other stakeholders, and 700 students. Furthermore, 140 organizations, including Children’s Aid Societies, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association, the Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition and the Institute for Catholic Education were all consulted in the 2015 update. Parents, youth and experts were consulted in the 2015 update. Saying otherwise is downright dishonest and represents a political agenda prioritizing social conservative voters at the expense of LGBTQ+ children.
On the claim that the sex-ed curriculum is driven by liberal ideology rather than evidence, you’ll note that while making that claim, the conservatives never actually articulate what aspects aren’t evidence-based. Is it the information on healthy relationships, online safety, cyberbullying or the dangers of sexting? Or is it the education on LGBTQ identities and families? I’ll bet the latter.
The statistics are dire: fortyseven per cent of trans youth have seriously considered suicide within the past year, and 19 per cent have attempted suicide. This isn’t because of their identities, but because of the homophobia and transphobia that is all too common in their schools, communities and even their own families. We have a crisis on our hands. Our LGBTQ children and youth are struggling with significantly higher rates of substance use, self-harm, homelessness and abuse. In 2015, we did what was right and took steps to ensure all children and youth have evidence-based education on sexuality and gender diversity. By revoking this update, our current government is sending a clear message: It cares more about placating social conservative radicals than about the lives of LGBTQ kids.
If we, as Ontarians, want to make our province a safer space for diverse communities, if we want to hold true to evidencebased education, we need to fight for inclusive, comprehensive sex education. Our children and youth deserve better. This fight isn’t about ideology; it’s about protecting the health and well-being of all our kids.