Parents are primarily responsible for educating their children about sexual behaviour and appropriate internet use, the curriculum management director has said.
We must prepare children for the reality of living in a sexualised culture
Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli last week called for the school Personal and Social Development syllabus to include lessons on pornography and its effect on relationships.
Writing in Times of Malta, Dr Dalli repeated her claim from three years earlier that children needed to be educated about pornography, as for many it was their introduction to sexual expression.
Dr Dalli wrote her opinion piece in response to the case of three 17-year-old boys being placed under probation for the gang rape of a 14-year-old girl.
The Social Dialogue Minister linked the case to internet porn, citing “various studies that make the link between pornography and rape, including gang rape”.
Contacted for a response, the Education Ministry referred Times of Malta’s questions to the curriculum management director, Sandro Spiteri.
Mr Spiteri said students in Form 5 are already encouraged to form a critical view of pornography in PSD lessons. Form 5 students are also taught more generally about media representations of ‘ideal’ body shapes and sexuality in PSD.
These students are aged 15 and 16 and in their final year of compulsory schooling.
“The PSD syllabus is being updated to reflect the current needs and issues of children and young people in a complex and challenging environment,” Mr Spiteri said.
However, it is primarily the role of parents or care-givers to teach their children about media use and appropriate sexual behaviour. They are also responsible for monitoring what their children access or view on different kinds of media, Mr Spiteri added.
Asked if she would advocate legislation to further restrict minors’ access to internet pornography, Dr Dalli replied: “On the contrary, I accept the fact that pornography has become ubiquitous and we must prepare our children for the reality of living in a sexualised culture.”
No such legislation has been proposed or discussed in Cabinet, she added.
Dr Dalli also said it was up to “experts” to propose the age at which children should start learning about pornography in PSD and what the syllabus should include.
She referred to her 2010 article in which she wrote: “The existence of porn and its easy access must be acknowledged and put on the school curriculum... maybe the starting point should be public debate.”
Dr Dalli added that sexual violence was not an inevitable consequence of young people accessing pornography, “but it affects some people in this way and there are studies to show this”, citing The Role of Emerging Communication Technologies in Experiences of Sexual Violence, issued by the Australian Institute of Family Studies in February.
In the UK last month, a British government-approved campaign group advised teachers to tell high-school students that “not all pornography is bad” and that it can be a “helpful” and “hugely diverse” educational tool.
The guidance came from Sex Education Forum, a quango (quasi-non-governmental organisation).
In a supplement issued to teachers, the group advised that even early primary school children could benefit from discussions on issues of “gender, image manipulation in advertising and body image”.
pcooke@timesofmalta.com