MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION BY THE COMMITTEE ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY (FEMM)

The Birds and the Bees: With a large share of young people unsatisfied with the relationship and sex education provided by schools, and information on topics such as sexual orientation and gender identity missing from several national curricula, how can European countries ensure young people are best prepared for healthy, safe and fulfilling romantic and sexual relationships throughout their lives?

Submitted by: Taisia Hottola (Ressun lukio), Sofie Mäkinen (Turun normaalikoulu), Veera Malinen (Kuopion Lyseon lukio), Ea Marjokorpi (Kuopion Lyseon lukio), Tua Marjokorpi (Kuopion Lyseon lukio), Luise Nurminen (Turun normaalikoulu), Aino Ranta (Lahden Lyseon lukio), Rebecca Shergold (CH), Halyna Yevstihnieieva (Jyväskylän Lyseon lukio), Nadia Schnider (Chairperson, CH)

The European Youth Parliament aims to ensure high quality sexuality education for European youth. It stands with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and World Health Organization (WHO) in the position that this encompasses fact-based information on the physiological, psychological and social aspects of sexual well-being from an inclusive and consent-centred standpoint, because:

A Sexual well-being plays a significant role in humansʼ overall well-being and quality of life,

B. According to UNESCO, people who received Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE)14 demonstrate healthier sexual practices, lower rates of unwanted pregnancy and teen dating violence, and a better overall understanding of sexual well-being,

C. Only a few Member States offer CSE before the onset of puberty as recommended by UNESCO,

14 Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is the process of teaching and learning about the biological, emotional and social aspects of human sexuality with the help of an age-appropriate curriculum based on human rights

Turku 2023 – National Session of the European Youth Parliament Finland General Assembly, 10 April 2023

D. The significant rise of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) affecting young people in Europe is largely attributed to lacking sexuality education,

E. The WHO designates the coverage of LGBTQIA+ topics and gender roles as a 15 quintessential element of CSE,

F. Not ever y child in the EU has equal access to CSE, particularly neglecting children in areas with an underfunded education sector,

G. There are great disparities in sexuality education curricula between Member States,

H. Lacking financial resources as well as religious and cultural stigmas have been identified as barriers to the wide-spread implementation of CSE,

I The internet offers readily available yet potentially harmful misinformation regarding sexuality,

J. Uninformed consumption of online pornographic material among young people may lead to a distorted image of healthy sexual relationships;

The European Youth Parliament,

1. Declares that CSE must be accessible for all the schools that seek it;

2. Suggests Eurostat to conduct an annual sexuality education quality ranking of schools in Member States;

3 Strongly encourages Member States to include CSE in national curricula at all levels of education starting from preschool, following the UNESCO sexuality education matrix for age–appropriate sex education;

4. Welcomes Member States to refrain from separating sexuality education classes by gender ;

5. Trusts Member States to incorporate workshops and theme-days on sexuality education in schools;

15 LGBTQIA+ is an acronym standing for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and A sexual, with the plus symbol accounting for intersectionality and representing other gender and sexual minorities.

Turku 2023 – National Session of the European Youth Parliament Finland General Assembly, 10 April 2023

6. Calls upon the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) to expand the scope of the Erasmus+ funding scheme to include the initial implementation on CSE programmes in underfunded schools;

7 Designates the EACEA to introduce a certification-based Erasmus+ Teacher Academy based on CSE;

8. Endorses the UNESCO and WHO to devise an easily accessible online platform containing CSE materials for young people;

9. Invites UNESCO, in collaboration with research institutions, to supplement the materials on CSE with research on the intersection of religious and other cultural beliefs;

10 Proposes to the WHO to create a multilingual platform for youth seeking help related to sexual well-being, which: a. allows users to remain anonymous, b. provides contact information to local youth psychologists and sexual health professionals, c. further provides an around-the-clock helpline staffed with trained professionals, d implements a chat-bot to answer simple questions;

11. Directs the EACEA to establish a multimedia campaign on dismantling sexuality education stigma, specifically targeted at older generations.