Planned Parenthood Regina, an organization focused on sexual health education, has been banned from schools in the province of Saskatche...
Planned Parenthood Regina, an organization focused on sexual health education, has been banned from schools in the province of Saskatchewan after holding a seminar with sexually explicit games to Grade 9 students at Lumsden High School. The card game includes an 'A to Z' guide describing extreme sexual acts.
The sexual health presentation was part of a Grade 9 health class curriculum. The controversial 'A to Z' guide, intended for gay, bisexual, and queer young people, was not directly referred to during the presentation but was made available on a side table afterward. The 'A to Z' guide was produced by the Aids Committee of Toronto (ACT) in 2014.
The explicit guide contained definitions of extreme sexual acts with cartoon portrayals. In addition to the detailed descriptions, the 'A to Z' guide included peculiar references such as 'cathodillia,' defined as "being attracted to one's television set."
Parents immediately complained about the content of the guide, urging Dustin Duncan, the Saskatchewan Education Minister, to take immediate action. As a response, Minister Duncan announced on Thursday that Planned Parenthood Regina had been suspended from working in schools across the region. He expressed his view that the material was "completely inappropriate" for a classroom setting and should have no place in educational institutions.
The Prairie Valley School Division, where Lumsden High School is located, also disapproves of the explicit material. A spokesman for the school division described the content as "inappropriate" and requested that Planned Parenthood remove it from any future school presentations.
The Prairie Valley School Division spokesman emphasized that while the presentation aligned with the Saskatchewan curriculum, the secondary resource brought by Planned Parenthood was not approved.
Debate over sex education materials follows restrictions on Planned Parenthood Regina seminars in Saskatchewan classrooms
As the ban takes effect, discussions and debates about the appropriate content and boundaries of sexual education in schools are likely to continue, with educators and organizations arguing between comprehensive sex education and age-appropriate material.
Julian Wotherspoon, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Regina, expressed her disappointment in being banned from schools. She emphasized that the organization does not usually bring such materials into classrooms. The pamphlets were typically distributed to more mature audiences due to their explicit content.
Wotherspoon defended the reputation of the organization that created the pamphlet, describing it as a reputable source of engaging, informative, sex-positive, and stigma-reducing material. She acknowledged the decision to suspend their presentations, but expressed disappointment at the lack of consultation, hoping for future communication with the school to clarify that the pamphlet was not part of their intended curriculum.
In response to the incident, Minister Duncan announced that the Ministry would review sexual education materials across all school divisions. The review is expected to be completed by September. Duncan also emphasized that the suspension right now doesn't preclude the organization from doing presentations in the future.
Duncan said there should be more care taken by people going into classrooms for presentations and more respect on the part of the school around a presentation as well. Duncan also emphasized the importance of parental awareness and involvement in their children's sexual education, indicating a desire to keep parents informed about such topics.
"The questions that we do have in terms of what is the vetting process for ensuring that teachers preview all the material that they're going to use not only in the delivery of their course, but also if they do bring in outside people and organizations, (and) what the vetting process is for their material as well," said Duncan.
Planned Parenthood's school presentations, which involved discussing contraceptives, sexually transmitted infections, and sexual consent, were conducted with a teacher present in the classroom. Wotherspoon defended their approach, stating that people of all ages have a right to information about their sexual health.
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