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Sex education risks becoming engulfed by culture wars, leading organisations warn

‘Sex education is so important, it should transcend being needlessly politicised,’ campaigner says

Maya Oppenheim
Women’s Correspondent
Friday 24 March 2023 14:02 GMT
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<p>The letter to the cabinet minister states schools are an ‘absolutely critical site for the protection of girls’ and they provide the ‘best opportunity to challenge attitudes which condone abuse, and transform the long-term likelihood of abuse in adult relationships’ </p>

The letter to the cabinet minister states schools are an ‘absolutely critical site for the protection of girls’ and they provide the ‘best opportunity to challenge attitudes which condone abuse, and transform the long-term likelihood of abuse in adult relationships’

The government must ensure sex education in England does not become embroiled in the culture wars and “needlessly politicised”, dozens of leading organisations have warned.

A letter, signed by more than 50 organisations, urged the education secretary Gillian Keegan to ensure the forthcoming review of the statutory guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) confronts the “cultural norms” which prop up an “epidemic” of gender-based violence.

It comes after Tory backbencher MP Miriam Cates recently faced fierce criticism for claiming students in the UK were receiving RSHE that is “age inappropriate, extreme, sexualising and inaccurate”.

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