“It is essential to recognize that the addressed and now removed content is crucial for preventing risky behaviors and increasing knowledge about sexual and reproductive rights,” the association asserted.
The issue concerns the new essential learnings of Citizenship and Development, which are open for public consultation until August 5.
In the document, set to regulate the subject, there is no mention of sexuality, prompting criticism from various civil society organizations.
In a statement issued today, UMAR considers the proposed changes to Citizenship and Development a “serious setback” in education, endangering fundamental rights.
“By removing these topics from schools, the prevention of sexual violence is hindered, and the exposure of children and young people to situations of violence and abuse increases,” it warns.
Previously, the guidelines for Citizenship Education included a health and sexuality education dimension, addressing “health protection and risk prevention, particularly in the areas of sexuality, violence, eating behavior, substance consumption, sedentary lifestyle, and accidents in school and domestic contexts.”
Specifically, sexuality was a subject to be addressed in at least two cycles of basic education.
For the association, these are “very important tools for combating gender and sexual violence, misogyny, and hegemonic masculinity and simultaneously promoting gender equality and human rights.”
On the other hand, UMAR warns that in the absence of these topics in schools, students will seek information from alternative sources, such as social networks, “where uninformed, misogynistic, and violent messages are often circulated.”
“This exposure to harmful content can negatively shape their perceptions about sexuality, gender, and relationships, making the school even more essential as a safe learning source,” they insist, urging the government to listen to schools, teachers, and students.
Last week, the Minister of Education assured that content related to Sexual Education would not disappear from the curriculum, despite the reduction in the new essential learnings for the Citizenship and Development subject.
According to the ministry, the subject matter will be included in the “Health” dimension, although the words sexual or sexuality do not appear. The topic is expected to be treated in an interdisciplinary manner and remains present in the curricula of other subjects, under the regime of application of sexual education in schools.
