Sex education is critical to protecting children from sexual abuse 

Sex education is critical to protecting children from sexual abuse and must be offered at all levels of the education system, the Hope for Children Policy Centre said on Friday.

On the occasion of the revelation made by a minor about her experience of sexual abuse after reading the fairy tale ‘Kiko and the Hand’, it points out that it proves that sex education and non-formal education of children with tools such as this fairy tale are crucial for their protection.

Hope For Children calls on the ministry of education to integrate sex education with the available special tools offered for this purpose, in all schools, eliminating any kind of prejudice and giving vulnerable children, opportunities to use their voice.

“The point is to reflect on the responsibility of adults regarding sex education of children. This builds a protective framework every child needs to have,” the announcement states.

“Adults, parents, educators, and other professionals who have contact with children can enhance knowledge about the need for privacy, boundaries, and the importance of saying ‘NO’,” it added.

Hope for Children is the official partner of the Council of Europe for the ‘One in Five’, a campaign that aims to stop sexual violence against children.  The centre has so far implemented hundreds of actions aimed at the prevention of this problem. As part of the campaign, it has translated the material of the Council of Europe into Greek.

Through empirical data, it is pointed out that the educational context has a dominant role in the psychosocial education of children as they spend most of their daily time at school.

Therefore, acknowledging that children began to “talk” “because they learned” that what they have experienced or are experiencing is a violation of their boundaries, the application of this kind of education to all schools and children, is considered critical.

“At the same time, teachers’ ability to recognise possible signs of sexual abuse is a protective factor that increases the chances of providing support to children,” the centre concluded.