Sexuality EducationSexuality Educationas a Human Rightas a Human Right

Christina Zampas Christina Zampas Center for Reproductive RightsCenter for Reproductive Rights

Zagreb, 27 October 2009Zagreb, 27 October 2009

Human Rights related to Human Rights related to Sexuality EducationSexuality Education

Right to education and informationRight to education and information

Right to healthRight to health

Right to lifeRight to life

Right to be free from non-Right to be free from non-discriminationdiscrimination

Right to Education & InformationRight to Education & Information

Children’s Rights Convention: Children’s Rights Convention:

……requires that all adolescent girls and requires that all adolescent girls and boys, both in and out of school, are boys, both in and out of school, are provided with , and not denied, accurate provided with , and not denied, accurate and appropriate information on how to and appropriate information on how to protect their health and development and protect their health and development and practise healthy behaviours. practise healthy behaviours.

-General Comment 4 on Adolescent Health, para. 26-General Comment 4 on Adolescent Health, para. 26

Right to HealthRight to HealthWomen’s Rights Convention (CEDAW)Women’s Rights Convention (CEDAW)States shouldStates should……

Prioritize the prevention of unwanted Prioritize the prevention of unwanted pregnancy through family planning and sex pregnancy through family planning and sex education... education...

Remove barriers to women's (& adolescents) Remove barriers to women's (& adolescents) access to health services, education and access to health services, education and information, including in the area of sexual and information, including in the area of sexual and reproductive health, and, in particular, allocate reproductive health, and, in particular, allocate programme resources for adolescents for the programme resources for adolescents for the prevention and treatment of sexually prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS; transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS;

CEDAW General Recommendation 24 on Women’s Health, para. 31CEDAW General Recommendation 24 on Women’s Health, para. 31

Right to LifeRight to Life

Children’s Rights Convention: Children’s Rights Convention:

consistent with obligations to ensure the right consistent with obligations to ensure the right to life, survival and development of the child to life, survival and development of the child (art. 6), States parties must ensure that (art. 6), States parties must ensure that children have the ability to acquire the children have the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to protect themselves knowledge and skills to protect themselves and others as they begin to express their and others as they begin to express their sexualitysexuality

--CRC Comm., CRC Comm., General Comment 3 on HIV/AIDS , General Comment 3 on HIV/AIDS , para. 16.para. 16.

Children’s Rights Convention, Children’s Rights Convention, Croatia (2004)Croatia (2004)

The Committee is concerned that adolescents have a low perception of the risks of contracting HIV and other STDs.

Recommends Croatia to: Enhance its efforts to address adolescent health

issues and ensure that the programmes for adolescent health are effectively implemented, including through the provision of adequate resources;

Take into account General Comment No. 4 (2003) on adolescent health and development and General Comment 3 on HIV/AIDS ;

Quality of sex edQuality of sex ed

Rights to Education, Health and Life require Rights to Education, Health and Life require that sexuality education be: that sexuality education be:

Mandatory Mandatory

Not censoredNot censored

Accurate and ObjectiveAccurate and Objective

Sexuality Education: MandatorySexuality Education: Mandatory

Sexuality education be made: Sexuality education be made:

n mandatory/compulsory and mandatory/compulsory and robust robust component of all students’ schooling, component of all students’ schooling, including vocational schools.including vocational schools.

n part of the official curricula for primary and part of the official curricula for primary and secondary school. secondary school.

n concern about programs that allow parents concern about programs that allow parents to opt-out on behalf of their children.to opt-out on behalf of their children.

Sexuality Education: Not CensoredSexuality Education: Not Censored

““States should refrain from…States should refrain from…censoring, withholding or censoring, withholding or intentionally misrepresenting health-intentionally misrepresenting health-related information, including related information, including sexuality education and information.” sexuality education and information.”

--Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment 14, para. 34

Sexuality Education:Sexuality Education:Accurate and ObjectiveAccurate and Objective

Human Rights Committee to Poland Human Rights Committee to Poland (2004)(2004)

“ “ensure that schools include accurate and objective ensure that schools include accurate and objective sexuality education in their curricula.”sexuality education in their curricula.”

Content of Sexuality EducationContent of Sexuality Education Comprehensive

Prevention of teen pregnancy

Unsafe abortion

Spread and prevention of STIs

Family planning & contraception

Harmful gender roles and stereotypes

Non-discriminatory

Adaptable to changing societies & needs of students

Content of Sexuality Education: Content of Sexuality Education: Non-DiscriminationNon-Discrimination

CEDAW to Croatia (2005)CEDAW to Croatia (2005)

The Committee is concerned about the persistence of sex-stereotyping in educational curricula and in textbooks…

The Committee encourages Croatia to intensify its efforts to eliminate gender stereotyping and to strengthen the mainstreaming of gender perspectives in curricula and textbooks. It also requests Croatia to enhance the training of teaching staff in regard to gender equality issues...

Complaint Complaint to to European Committee of Social Rights

International Center for the Legal Protection of Human Rights - INTERIGHTS (London) with the Center for

Reproductive Rights (New York) and the Centre for Education, Counselling and Research - CESI (Zagreb)

v.the Republic of Croatia

State failure to provide mandatory, comprehensive and non-discriminatory school-based sexuality education;

State support of scientifically inaccurate, biased, and discriminatory elective program.

Complaint Complaint to to European Committee of Social

RightsResults:

Right to Health requires that sexuality education is COMPREHENSIVE Right to Health requires that sexuality education is COMPREHENSIVE and:and:

Mandatory & part of ordinary curriculumMandatory & part of ordinary curriculum Quantitatively adequate & resource commitment Quantitatively adequate & resource commitment Objective, based on ‘contemporary scientific evidence’ Objective, based on ‘contemporary scientific evidence’ Does not involve ‘censoring, withholding or intentionally Does not involve ‘censoring, withholding or intentionally

misrepresenting information’misrepresenting information’ Non-discriminatoryNon-discriminatory Monitored and evaluatedMonitored and evaluated

Complaint Complaint to to European Committee of Social

Rights

Results (continued)

The Committee noted:

that the number of hours and the information taught in the existing curriculum are limited, but did not deem them as ‘sufficiently deficient’ based on the ground that pregnancy and STI rates among Croatian adolescents are generally not worse than in other European countries.

But curriculum must adhere to human rights standards

Complaint Complaint to to European Committee of Social

RightsResults (continued): Results (continued): The Committee noted,The Committee noted,

Education must be objective and non-discriminatory and found Croatian health education discriminatory on basis of sexual orientation:

Information in Croatian educational materials ‘stigmatize homosexuals and are based on negative, distorted, reprehensible and degrading stereotypes… such statements serve to attack human dignity and have no place in sexual and reproductive health education…’

This content is not just discriminatory against homosexuals, ‘but also presents a distorted picture of human sexuality to the children exposed to this material.’

Complaint Complaint to to European Committee of Social

Rights

Results (continued): Results (continued):

Ministry of Science Education and Sports has removed textbook from list of approved textbooks for 2009-2010 school year, which also included non-scientific based information on sexual and reproductive health issues.