Advocates say sex ed needed to combat gender violence
SASKATOON Dec. 6 marks 30 years since the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, memorialized in Canada as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
The massacre was pivotal in starting a wider conversation about violence against women — an issue that still persists and disproportionately affects marginalized populations.
According to Statistics Canada, Indigenous women, women living with disabilities, women in rural or remote areas and women who identify as lesbian or bisexual are at even greater risk of violence.
In Saskatchewan, the rates of police-reported violence against girls and young women and intimate partner violence are the highest among the provinces.
Sexual health advocates say comprehensive, inclusive sexual health education has a role to play in bringing down those numbers.
“Comprehensive sexuality education is both protective and preventive,” said Natalya Mason, education and outreach co-ordinator at Saskatoon Sexual Health. “So it’s a really important piece of the puzzle in terms of reducing gender-based violence in this province.”
School curriculums across Canada, the content and delivery of which are mandated jurisdictionally, don’t meet the 2019 Canadian Guidelines for Sexual Health Education or international human rights standards set by the UN.
Saskatchewan’s curriculum leaves out key topics like consent, which is crucial for building healthy sexual identities and relationships, said Frederique Chabot, director of health promotion for Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights.
In July, the organization started a multi-year campaign to improve sex education in Canada by holding a protest outside the hotel where the premiers were meeting for the Council of the Federation.
Chabot said comprehensive sex education is a “crucial upstream intervention” against gender-based violence.
“I think it could have shock waves in terms of changing the culture we have around consent and the ability to build and nurture healthy relationships,” Chabot said. “But it’s under-utilized in terms of addressing a problem that has impacts that last a lifetime.”
In June, the Standing Committee on Health released a report on the health of LGBTQ2+ communities in Canada. Among its recommendations was that the federal government work with the provinces and territories to provide better sex education, with an evidence-based, inclusive federal standard for them to follow.
Gender-based violence rates are exacerbated for sexually diverse people. Numbers from Statistics Canada show that gay, lesbian and bisexual people are three times more likely than heterosexual people to be victims of violence.
Outsaskatoon education co-ordinator Jess Fisher is heading two projects looking at gender-based violence against LGBTQ2+ people.
Outside of relationships, sex education that’s representative of diversity can be affirming for young people, Fisher said.
“When you can see yourself represented in education, then you feel like it’s relevant to you. And it almost gives you blueprint or permission to say ‘I have rights, I have needs, I have boundaries that people need to respect and it’s OK for me to communicate those needs.’ “
An improved curriculum would also need to account for cultural shifts, including social media and the ways young people are able to access material that could influence their concept of what’s normal, Mason said.