A new report warns MPs of the dangers of sex education teaching children too much, at too young an age.
The Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group report argues that current sex education fails to protect children.
It was submitted as part of the Government’s consultation on Relationships and Sex Education.
Destroying moral values
The report details evidence that sexually transmitted infections and mental health issues among children have risen dramatically.
It says these were “consequences of increasing ideological pressure that is destroying traditional moral values and weakening the family support mechanisms that are the natural safety net for children.”
“ideological pressure that is destroying traditional moral values and weakening the family support mechanisms that are the natural safety net for children”
It adds that the Government’s promotion of transgenderism is “deeply confusing for children in their formative years”.
The report says this could distance children from the influences of their families like “a totalitarian regime”.
Health warnings
The report also explained that despite decades of sex education, statistics show that people’s long-term health continues to be damaged.
Robert Harris, the group’s Joint Convener, said that mandatory health warnings should be given about the proven health risks of having multiple sexual partners, in the same way people are warned about the health risks of cigarettes.
He said that current sex education normalises underage sexual intercourse and having multiple partners, and does not make it clear that contraceptives do not provide protection from sexually transmitted infections.
MPs at the meeting launching the report warned: “Children will say to us in the future: ‘You never warned us about the consequences of our actions.’”
Moral boundaries
Louise Kirk, author of Sexuality Explained: A Guide for Parents and Children, said children should be taught that having multiple sexual partners damages a person’s ability to form a stable and long-lasting union.
The group’s chairman Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP welcomed the report, saying that sex education is currently “not working for anyone”.
He added that the moral boundaries society thrives upon are being removed, meaning it is now going in the ‘wrong direction at a very high speed’.