4th International Day for Sex Education from Childhood
LAS VEGAS, November 20 — November 20th is International Day for Children’s Rights. On this occasion, the International Raelian Movement (IRM) is organizing the fourth International SexEd Day, promoting sexuality education from childhood as recommended by experts from several international institutions‘ research reports including UNESCO and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe.
"The taboos and the law of silence that currently rule over sexuality education are destructive and dangerous. It's imperative that the guiding principles issued by UNESCO and WHO experts who favor sexuality education from childhood be genuinely implemented by governments that do absolutely nothing even in France where laws exist but are hardly implemented" declared Clemence Linard, M.A. in Education, sexologist and SexEd Day spokesperson.
"With a pedagogical approach adapted to each age, the better the quality of the education received, the more children are protected and are able to make their own choices as young individuals early on in life, and respect themselves and others,” she continued.
The spokesperson emphasized that these guiding principles are fully in line with the Raelian philosophy that has, for more than 40 years, advocated the necessity to explain sexuality and the notion of pleasure, just like UNESCO and the WHO have concluded in their reports.
Recall that in 2009, following pressures from the Christian lobby, in one of its reports UNESCO censored the part that explained the importance of explaining masturbation from age 5. "This part, censored by UNESCO*, has still not been reintroduced in the 2018 updated version of the report even though the WHO Regional Office for Europe went ahead and published it, and went a step further by advocating this explanation particularly during childhood,**” explained Linard.
The spokeswoman said that antiquated religious pressures should not interfere with such a scientific report prepared by experts. "It is unacceptable that UNESCO has succumbed to these pressures and still has not taken the necessary steps, 9 years later, to reinstate this explanation," she noted.
"There is a huge gap between the way adults—including politicians and parents—perceive sexuality education and the reality that children and adolescents face on a daily basis. This failure by adults to recognize the importance of sexuality education and pleasure generates incredible suffering in children such as discrimination and abuse,” denounced Clemence Linard. "It must change and for this to happen a global awareness of the absolute necessity of a sexual education worthy of its name is required. It's a human right,” she concluded.
Launched in 2015, SexEd Day is the IRM's annual awareness campaign for sex education in childhood. In several countries, demonstrations will be organized in front of the UNESCO offices and the Ministries of Education to denounce this censorship and request the reissue of UNESCO's report on sexuality education in accordance with the studies of experts, and the implementation of these basic guiding principles by governments.
* Censored excerpt of the 2009 UNESCO report: «Learning Objectives for Level I (5-8): Explain the concept of private parts of the body. Key Ideas: • Most children are curious about their bodies • It is natural to explore and touch parts of one’s own body • Bodies can feel good when touched • Touching and rubbing one’s genitals is called masturbation • Some people masturbate and some do not • Masturbation is not harmful but should be done in private.» (p.48).
** Excerpt of the 2010 WHO report: "Matrix (0-4): Sexuality / Informing the child about the pleasure and satisfaction of touching one's own body, early childhood masturbation • discovering one's own body and genitals • the fact that the pleasure of physical contact is a normal part of everyone's life • gentleness and physical contact as an expression of love and affection (p.38).
Links to the full UNESCO and WHO reports available at: rael.org/SexEdDay
More information: rael.org/SexEdDay
"The taboos and the law of silence that currently rule over sexuality education are destructive and dangerous. It's imperative that the guiding principles issued by UNESCO and WHO experts who favor sexuality education from childhood be genuinely implemented by governments that do absolutely nothing even in France where laws exist but are hardly implemented" declared Clemence Linard, M.A. in Education, sexologist and SexEd Day spokesperson.
"With a pedagogical approach adapted to each age, the better the quality of the education received, the more children are protected and are able to make their own choices as young individuals early on in life, and respect themselves and others,” she continued.
The spokesperson emphasized that these guiding principles are fully in line with the Raelian philosophy that has, for more than 40 years, advocated the necessity to explain sexuality and the notion of pleasure, just like UNESCO and the WHO have concluded in their reports.
Recall that in 2009, following pressures from the Christian lobby, in one of its reports UNESCO censored the part that explained the importance of explaining masturbation from age 5. "This part, censored by UNESCO*, has still not been reintroduced in the 2018 updated version of the report even though the WHO Regional Office for Europe went ahead and published it, and went a step further by advocating this explanation particularly during childhood,**” explained Linard.
The spokeswoman said that antiquated religious pressures should not interfere with such a scientific report prepared by experts. "It is unacceptable that UNESCO has succumbed to these pressures and still has not taken the necessary steps, 9 years later, to reinstate this explanation," she noted.
"There is a huge gap between the way adults—including politicians and parents—perceive sexuality education and the reality that children and adolescents face on a daily basis. This failure by adults to recognize the importance of sexuality education and pleasure generates incredible suffering in children such as discrimination and abuse,” denounced Clemence Linard. "It must change and for this to happen a global awareness of the absolute necessity of a sexual education worthy of its name is required. It's a human right,” she concluded.
Launched in 2015, SexEd Day is the IRM's annual awareness campaign for sex education in childhood. In several countries, demonstrations will be organized in front of the UNESCO offices and the Ministries of Education to denounce this censorship and request the reissue of UNESCO's report on sexuality education in accordance with the studies of experts, and the implementation of these basic guiding principles by governments.
* Censored excerpt of the 2009 UNESCO report: «Learning Objectives for Level I (5-8): Explain the concept of private parts of the body. Key Ideas: • Most children are curious about their bodies • It is natural to explore and touch parts of one’s own body • Bodies can feel good when touched • Touching and rubbing one’s genitals is called masturbation • Some people masturbate and some do not • Masturbation is not harmful but should be done in private.» (p.48).
** Excerpt of the 2010 WHO report: "Matrix (0-4): Sexuality / Informing the child about the pleasure and satisfaction of touching one's own body, early childhood masturbation • discovering one's own body and genitals • the fact that the pleasure of physical contact is a normal part of everyone's life • gentleness and physical contact as an expression of love and affection (p.38).
Links to the full UNESCO and WHO reports available at: rael.org/SexEdDay
More information: rael.org/SexEdDay
 | Sunday 18 November 2018 |  |  |