Following Ontario Education Minister Lisa Thompson’s announcement regarding the Ontario Sex-ed curriculum on Friday, Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights congratulates every person in Ontario and around the country that rose to protest roll-back of the 2015 sex-ed curriculum but notes that there is still work to be done. Delaying inclusion of LGBTQ+ inclusion and gender identity until grade 8 will have serious implications for young people. We urge parents, teachers, allies and activists to continue fighting for the high-quality, evidenced based sexuality education that all children need to live full healthy lives.
Most children will develop a sense of their gender identity between the ages of two and five. Delaying discussion of gender diversity until children are thirteen can cause real harm for young people and their families.
Across Canada, children are receiving sub-par, inconsistent sex-ed. No curriculum in Canada meets internationally recognized human rights standards and for Ontario to choose to regress on sex-ed at all, when parents, teachers, and the young people themselves are clearly demanding a comprehensive curriculum, is a blow to the health and well-being of young people.