The French Family Planning Association has published a report on the campaign against comprehensive sexuality education in Europe. It confirms the findings of previous studies and outlines the responses that should be promoted within the European Union.
The report is entitled ‘The Campaign Against Comprehensive Sexuality Education – Mapping the Actors and Analysing the Strategies of the Opposition Movement in Europe’. It was drafted by the French Family Planning Association, a member of the IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Federation) network, in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation. This study examines the organisational strategies, rhetoric and actions of the movement opposing comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in six European countries (Germany, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy and Sweden). It is a transnational, comparative and applied study. It describes the legislative framework for CSE in these countries and assesses its effective implementation.
What is Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE)? CSE differs from sex education in terms of its approach and content. Whilst sex education focuses on the biological aspects of sexuality (anatomy, reproduction, etc.) and the prevention of associated risks (STIs, unwanted pregnancies, etc.), CSE adopts a holistic and multidisciplinary view of emotional, relational and sexual life. It incorporates feelings, experiences and concepts relating to well-being and identity. The report incorporates the concept of ‘gender’ as referring to the set of “socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society, within a specific socio-cultural context, considers appropriate for women and men”.
Sexual and reproductive rights are an essential prerequisite for women’s autonomy and emancipation, as well as for achieving equality between women and men and between all people, regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation. These rights are currently under pressure and under attack in several European countries as well as in the United States, and remain out of reach in much of the world
Based on an analysis of academic and institutional sources, supplemented by observations drawn from fieldwork, the study identifies the discursive strategies and modus operandi of those involved in the anti-CSE movement in Europe. The study concludes by setting out recommendations for European institutions and Member States, with a view to bringing about structural and sustainable improvements to the implementation of sexuality education in Europe. These recommendations overlap with the 46 recommendations made in 2023 in the Family Planning White Paper ‘Towards Genuine Sexuality Education’.
This report also refers to the study by the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) entitled ‘Sexual and reproductive rights in Europe: between threats and progress’, drafted in 2019 by Véronique Séhier, then co-chair of Planning familial and a member of the CESE in her capacity as an expert. She emphasises that sexual and reproductive rights are an essential prerequisite for women’s autonomy and emancipation, as well as for achieving equality between women and men and between all people, regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation. Whilst equality is enshrined in the European project, the European Union has remained passive on these issues. These rights are currently under pressure and under attack in several European countries as well as in the United States, and remain out of reach in much of the world. This study was analysed by the sociologist Geneviève Cresson in the journal Nouvelles Questions Féministes.
