Scruton says 'Remove sex education from the curriculum' in wake of new gang sex statistics

Sex education must be removed from the school curriculum and handed back to parents, philosopher Roger Scruton has told Lapido.

In the wake of shocking figures on levels of gang sex on school premises, Professor Scruton, whose books include the 2001 work Sexual Desire, said the current sex education ethos was proving ‘dangerous’ to children.

Children as young as five are being taught about sex and relationships in schools as part of a Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education syllabus which has ‘no connection to love’, he says. 

But Professor Scruton told Lapido that the how-to focus rather than whether-to was wrong.

‘Sex education must be focused on restraint and self-control, otherwise, it is not a form of education,’ he said.

Sex education in British schools must be ‘re-thought completely’ and maybe removed from the school curriculum altogether for there to be any hope of combating increased sexual violence in the playground and horrific gang-related sexual violence.

‘Children are being taught to treat sex as a mere appetite, which has no connection to love or human relationships, and which can be squandered as we wish without long-term consequences’, he said.

Qualms about sex teaching in schools are increasing around the Western world as governments recognize the increased nature of sexual violence among schoolchildren, and the sexual nature of much gang-related crime.

The UK’s Department of Education revealed in November that in 2010-11 there were ten permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct in primary schools and seventy in secondary schools.

There were a further 190 suspensions in primary schools and 2,760 in secondary schools during the same period.

Child rights organisation Plan International also launched a report in March in conjunction with Toronto University, entitled ‘A Girls Right to Learn Without Fear’,which calls on governments to prioritise actions to protect up to 66million girls worldwide missing out on education through rape and sexual violence in school.

Despite shocking figures, Sue Berelowitz, the deputy children's commissioner in UK, presenting interim findings on child sex exploitation in gangs to the Education Committee in February, in February, said that head teachers were reluctant to tackle instances of sexual violence for fear of giving their school a bad reputation.

'We are encountering a reluctance in some schools to face up to the fact that some of the bullying that takes place within the school environment actually amounts to sexual exploitation, certainly sexual violence,' she said.

Her comments followed a two-year inquiry into the scope of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in gangs and groups, published in November 2012 under the title I thought I was the only one.  The only one in the world.

Although PSHE is not statutory in the curriculum, all schools are expected to provide the subject for their pupils.

Around 32 per cent of respondents to the government's PSHE review published in March said that pupils should be equipped with the knowledge to keep sexually safe and that it was therefore 'vital' that sex education continued in the curriculum.

The report added: 'It was noted that educating pupils about sexual matters was a factor that could reduce such issues as teenage pregnancy, sexually-transmitted disease and abortion.'

Virginity

But former gang leader Jennifer Blake, who now runs the Safe 'N' Sound youth project in south-east London, disagreed. 

'Schools should not be teaching young children about sex. It's just putting the idea into their heads.'

Jennifer, whose time in gangs began when she was 13, said she suffered some 'horrific' things as part of the lifestyle, including kidnap and rape.

'For many of these girls, the sexual exploitation is normal,' Jennifer told Lapido.

'They don't see themselves as victims. Many of them believe that if they are a virgin by the time they are 13, that there's something seriously wrong with them.’

Now a youth counsellor, she sees many girls who are subjected to sexual abuse such as being gang raped or being forced to recruit other girls as part of their initiation. Boys too are forced to rape girls as part of their initiation.

Highly vulnerable

Sex education is supposed to be 'age appropriate'.  However, Lapido spoke to primary school teachers who said their pupils as young as five were being taught about sex and relationships.

The government is aware of the extent of sex-related gang violence among young people and are tackling it as part of their Ending Gang and Youth Violence initiative which reported in November 2011.

It revealed that gangs were taking part in the 'frequent sexual abuse of female gang associates'.

'Women and girls associated with gang members – whether girlfriends, siblings or mothers – can all be highly vulnerable to domestic and sexual violence,' it added.

Around £1.2 million has been pledged by the Home Office to fund 13 support workers for girls vulnerable to, or suffering from, gang-related sexual violence.

John Poyton, CEO of south-east London youth charity Redthread, said girls were being subjected to horrific acts including 'line-ups' in which gang members stood in a row for oral sex.

But he disagreed with Professor Scruton that teaching about abstinence would address this.

‘That's not a conversation. Problems can't be solved in bumper stickers and straplines,' he told Lapido.

'Young people need to be given all of the options and not just one.

‘But sometimes secular groups have been accused of assuming everyone's sexually active and then teaching young people how to have sex, when they are not.'

Corrupting

Roger Scruton suggests that sex education should be taken out of schools altogether.

‘These are dangerous doctrines which amount to corrupting the minds and souls of our children – and also disabling them for real love in the adult world,’ he said.

‘Sex education has to be re-thought completely, and maybe removed from the school curriculum and handed back to parents.’

A sex education system which effectively assumes that children will have sex is failing to equip them with the full story, says Rachel Gardner of the Romance Academy – a charity which tackles teen pregnancy.

She said: ‘"No"’ is one of the most powerful words they will ever say. Failing to teach this is an injustice.'