A Tory MP said she does not want primary school children to have any sex education “to protect their innocence”.
Speaking on Monday afternoon, backbencher Andrea Jenkyns – an education minister under Boris Johnson and Liz Truss – said she does not want young children “to learn about sex full stop.”
The discussion began around teaching LGBTQ+ subjects content in relationships education – but Jenkyns briefly tried to expand the discussion into a wider conservation about sex.
She said: “As the mother of a primary-age schoolchild, I do not want him or other children, straight or gay, to learn about sex full stop.
“I also do not want to see young children in primary school to be taught about changing gender.
“I have no problem with whatever people want to do when they are older—life is short; be happy—but does my honourable friend agree that we need to protect the innocence of children and their childhood, especially at primary school age?”
It’s worth noting other MPs in Westminster Hall with her were not talking about sex education in general.
And, as fellow Conservative MP Elliot Colburn stated: “Primary schools are not required to teach sex education or explicitly teach about LGBT+ issues; it is more about families and relationships.
“Parents also have the right to withdraw their child from the sex education part of [relationships and sex education] up to the age of 16.”
As you can imagine, Jenkyns’ comments went down like a lead balloon among critics on social media – especially after she shared a clip that was viewed more than two million times in less than 24 hours.
Many people pointed out that it was essential for children to understand basic relationships and how consent works.
Others noted that some children begin puberty before they start secondary school, so need to learn about their bodies beforehand.