Sex education at school: a government priority

[Mise à jour du 13 septembre à 13h06] Sex education at school is one of the priority and highly sensitive files of the Ministry of National Education for the start of the school year. While the president of the Reconquest party, Eric Zemmour, denounced on Sunday that courses on gender theories would soon be given in schools, Minister Pap Ndiaye affirmed Monday, September 12 at the microphone of France Info that “sex education has nothing to do with gender theory”. In the end, there will be no lessons on gender in school curricula, contrary to what the ministry had planned in its back-to-school flyer. “What we’re going to promote, and it’s about respecting the law, is sex education,” said Pap Ndiaye recently. And for good reason, today in France, the 2001 law on sexuality education in schools, colleges and high schools is poorly applied. “A report from the general inspectorate shows that there are great variations according to schools, classes and territories. We must therefore improve this situation for public health objectives, to reduce teenage pregnancies or to fight against sexually transmitted diseases. ; and more general objectives which are linked to discrimination, the fight against sexual and gender-based violence, the fight against LGBTphobia, better equality between girls and boys”explained the minister to our colleagues.
In detail, according to a report of the High Council for Equality between Women and Men published in 2016, 11.3% of high schools among the 695 surveyed say they have not implemented any action or session in terms of sexuality education during the 2014-2015 school year. A figure that rises to 4% in colleges and 25% in elementary schools. Another one investigation dating from 2022 led by the association All of us also highlighted this reality. According to their data collected from 10,938 people, “respondents who had completed at least 7 years of college and high school received an average of 2.7 sex education sessions throughout their schooling“, instead of the mandatory 21.

Sex education at school: what does the 2001 law say?

Three sessions per year. Here is what the law of 2001 (confirmed by the circular of February 17, 2003) provides for sex education in schools, colleges and high schools. “By homogeneous age groups, these sessions present an egalitarian vision of relations between women and men. They contribute to learning the respect due to the human body and raise awareness of sexist or sexual violence as well as female genital mutilation” , emphasizes thearticle L312-16 of the law.

In reality, it takes a few hours to inform children and teenagers about romantic relationships, the “first time”, masturbation, the different contraceptive methods, putting on a condom, the risks of contracting an STI or the problems of sexism. All the more, “that today, this law is not applied everywhere while information on sexuality seems essential“, was surprised Israel Nisand, former president of the National College of French Gynecologists and Obstetricians (CNGOF). during a conference on the protection of children and adolescents against pornography in June 2018.

What is the government planning today?

In order to curb these disparities and to make sex education accessible to all, the ministry of Pap Ndiaye plans for the time being “practical sheets”, written in collaboration with experts, and intended for teachers to give them the keys to teaching this subject. “We find that if these courses are badly applied, it is because the teachers are not sufficiently informed, are not comfortable and do not have the right supports at their destination to help them. The Minister wishes to arm teachers so that they can promote equality between girls and boys”, the ministry said. The government is also counting on the various resources made available to inform and help teachers find the right pedagogy. This is particularly the case of the Sexuality Education portal available on the Eduscol website.

Sex education at school: what do we really learn during these lessons?

Sex education classes are planned from primary school onwards in order to contribute “to learning responsible behavior, respecting oneself and others”, specify the national education website. But in the end, what do we learn? To know thatcurrently there is no program as such. “Sexuality education is not a new discipline: it develops through all teaching, in particular life and earth sciences, moral and civic education, history-geography, French, and in the context of school life”details the ministry’s website. In practice, “The time devoted to sex education is the responsibility of the school teacher. These times are adapted to the opportunities provided by classroom or school life.“These courses, distilled throughout the school year, generally take the form of debates and are orchestrated by questions from students to which teachers must respond in a manner appropriate to their maturity. Indeed, “young children ask themselves a lot of questions, even if the concept of sexuality remains vague“, assures the psychologist Samuel Comblez in his book The sexuality of your teenagers: talking about it, it’s not that complicated (Solar Publishers). The questions of respect for others, perception of one’s body, connection to others, tenderness, sharing or even limits (knowing how to say no…) are addressed. In these classes, we talk about the differences between girls and boys, how their bodies work, what we call love or what is allowed or not… So it’s not really about sexuality education, but speaking times that invite schoolchildren to dialogue, discuss and ask questions about their doubts.

From the middle school to high school, it is rather a practical application of the notions that the teenager has integrated earlier. The speakers (meaning that these sessions are organized by a team of trained volunteers such as teachers, principal education advisers or nurses, etc.) must provide students with objective information, scientific knowledge, promote behavior responsible (prevention, protection of oneself and others, etc.) and answer public health questions, in particular those on STIs, on access to contraception or on relations between men and women, desire, sexism, homophobia, different sexual orientations, abortion, pornography or even sexual violence (see the different themes below). It is also an opportunity to develop critical thinking and to make known the resources for information, help and support in the establishment and outside (family planning, screening centre, etc.). The duration of the sessions and the size of the groups are adapted to each level of education.

Why so few hours devoted to sex education in France?

Although compulsory, sex education is far from being a priority in school curricula.

Sex education today comes down to a few hours given during the year, when it is not confined to the chapter on reproduction in the course of natural sciences. There is too little left. Why ? Sex education sessions only became compulsory after the 1998 reform, implemented by Ségolène Royal, Minister for the Family at the time. While some teachers were trained on this occasion, not all were prepared to give sex education lessons. Whether it be lack of time or because of a lack of knowledge, these courses have since been far from being a priority in teaching. And race program requires, teachers are not always ready to “sacrifice” lesson hours to deal with issues related to emotional and sexual life! Furthermore, as long as sexuality education is not recognized as a subject in its own right, but mostly dealt with on the surface through all lessons (approach currently centered on biology and reproduction, particularly in SVT, or in the learning of citizenship in moral and civic education, or even in history-geography), it will remain neglected. And many children and adolescents will continue to retain only the biological, health or pathological aspects of sexuality (fight against STDs or HIV, contraception, etc.).

Is France lagging behind other countries? How do we teach sex education to children in our neighbors?

• The Belgium addresses sentimental and sexual life from the end of primary school during “Relational, Affective and Sexual Life Education” (EVRAS) workshops. Indeed, since the law put in place by the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation in 2012, all schools are obliged to integrate into their programs several activities on the theme of feelings, desires, physical changes , virginity, gender identity or even pornography. Contraception is covered from the age of 14.
• At UK, all schools provide sex education classes for children from 4 years old. These courses are of course adapted to their young age. Until the end of primary school, it addresses the construction of healthy social relationships. Then in college, the focus is more on romantic relationships, issues related to intimate life, the use of one’s image on the web, sexual consent…
• In Sweden, sex education has been compulsory since 1955! From the age of 7, pupils can ask questions about prevention, as well as about the fight against stereotypes and discrimination or about sexual pleasure. The Swedish method combines lectures, debates, film viewing, discussion exercises and group work. The National Directorate of School Education (Skolverket) has also made state-approved reference material available to teachers for sex education: The Sexual Atlas of Schools, the Lilla Snoppboken (“the book of the zizi”) or the educational cartoon entitled “Sexe à la Carte”.
• Last example: Swiss has a very specific sex education program. From the 4th year of primary school (around 7-8 years old), school children attend several sex education sessions (parents are also invited to the first so that they understand what will be discussed). And from the age of 14, they systematically receive four hours of sex education each year, then two additional hours can be provided to deepen a particular theme.