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Call for statutory sex education in Scotland's schools MSPs consider sex education law call
(about 14 hours later)
Schools should be compelled by law to teach sex and relationship education, according to a youth organisation which provides sex education. Scottish schools should be compelled by law to teach sex and relationship education, according to an organisation which provides sex education.
A Scottish Parliament committee is to consider a petition from Sexpression:UK. Sexpression:UK said discussions about domestic violence, rape and child abuse should be compulsory from a young age.
The group said Scotland had a high rate of teenage pregnancy, sexually-transmitted infections and homophobia. The call was made as representatives from the organisation made their case to MSPs at the Scottish Parliament.
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre said local authorities were mainly responsible for sex education. Scotland's school curriculum is largely set out through guidance, rather than in statue.
The petition calls on MSPs "to urge the Scottish government to introduce comprehensive sex and relationship education (SRE) into the Scottish education curriculum and make it statutory for all schools to teach". Only religious education and Gaelic instruction in certain regions are enshrined in law, while responsibility for sex and relationship education lies primarily with local authorities.
Jack Fletcher, advocacy representative at Sexpression:UK and an Aberdeen University medical student, is to appear before Holyrood's Public Petitions Committee. However, Sexpression:UK said more action was needed to tackle Scotland's high rates of teenage pregnancy, sexually-transmitted infections and homophobia.
'Needs improvement' Split curriculum
"At present, there is no statutory SRE in the Scottish education system," Mr Fletcher said. Appearing before Holyrood's petitions committee, Sexpression:UK spokeswoman Rebecca Ryce said her organisation's approach was not about a "preach of ideology".
"I feel very strongly that this is an area that needs vast improvement and that legislation should be passed for comprehensive high-quality SRE to be taught as statutory in schools at primary and secondary level, with age-appropriate measures taken towards content. She said the curriculum would be split into factual information about issues such as sexually-transmitted infections and the effectiveness of contraception, and discussion points on subjective topics.
"This is a priority because although teenage pregnancy has fallen greatly in recent years, the rates in Scotland are still one of the highest in Europe. "I think it's good for children to hear all sides of the argument as I think that will inform their learning," said Ms Ryce.
"Sexually-transmitted infections are still rife due to lack of contraception use. "For example, with gender-based violence I think that should be compulsory. Discussions about domestic violence, rape, assault and child abuse should definitely be brought up in schools from a young age.
"Homophobia is rife in schools and this is an issue that needs effective confrontation, of which education is key." "There are core values that I think we should be promoting, certainly, but never an ideology."
He added: "Consent is a huge area of ambiguity and this only adds to sexual violence, rape and verbal harassment. Conservative MSP Jackson Carlaw, a member of the petitions committee, raised concerns over a statutory approach, adding: "I would worry there was a received wisdom as to what was correct, and that anyone who perhaps took an alternative view to that would be told that they are wrong, when in fact that is a subjective argument and not, in fact, an absolute one."
"This is not treated with the concern it deserves." Commenting on the proposals, Rev David Robertson, of the Free Church of Scotland, said: "On the surface Sexpression's concerns seem justified and their solutions reasonable.
The organisation claimed that nearly a quarter of schools had no SRE-trained staff, while three-quarters of denominational schools would not discuss contraception. "However, in reality it is a trojan horse which will be used to indoctrinate our children into the particular sexual ethics and philosophy which Sexpression regard as right."
In advice to MSPs, the Scottish Parliament Information Centre said only religious education and Gaelic instruction in certain regions of Scotland were enshrined in law. MSPs agreed to take forward the petition and seek further advice from the Scottish government.
"Rather than being set out in statute, the school curriculum is established through guidance issued by Education Scotland," it said. Petitions committee convener David Stewart said Sexpression:UK's evidence was "timely" and "welcome".
"The Scottish government note that responsibility for sex and relationship education lies primarily with local authorities." "Our recent work on tackling child exploitation shows the benefits of educating children in sex and relationships in an appropriate way, as well as the practical challenges," he said.
You can watch Jack Fletcher give evidence to the Public Petitions committee live or on demand at BBC Scotland's Democracy Live website. "As we progress this petition, we will closely monitor the Scottish government's forthcoming new guidance on sex and relationships education."