The associations SOS Homophobia, Sidaction and Family Planning announced on Wednesday that they were attacking the State before administrative justice to force it to organize at least three sex education sessions each year at school, as provided for by law.
The applicants explained in a press release that they intended to seize the Paris administrative court on Thursday to “
put the State before its responsibilities
” and “demand the full and complete application of the 2001 law.
far from account
According to the Education Code, students in schools, colleges and high schools must benefit from at least three annual sexuality education sessions, including awareness-raising on gender-based and sexual violence.
In practice, however, we are far from the mark, say the associations, for whom these themes "
remain neglected by the public authorities
".
The objective “
is obviously not achieved
”, admitted in 2021 a report from the General Inspectorate of Education.
According to a recent Ifop poll, commissioned by the three associations and carried out among a thousand young people aged 15 to 24, 17% of those questioned said they had never had any lessons on the subject, and among the others, only a third say they have benefited from the three planned annual sessions.
However, the non-application of the law is not without consequence, insist the associations, which highlight the 33% increase in sexual violence between 2020 and 2021. In addition, "for years, we have seen a
deterioration young people's knowledge of HIV
," said Florence Thune, CEO of Sidaction.
Read alsoSex education: some parents fear “words that are too raw”
For the associations, only sexuality education, "
from an early age
"
,
should make it possible to "
attack at the root of inequalities and gender violence
".
In September, the Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye had ordered in a circular the "
reinforcement
" of this education, asking that it become "
effective from this school year
"
.
"
We must respect the law
," insisted the minister.
For Lucile Jomat, of SOS Homophobia, the government is "
cautious
" on this subject, especially after the violent controversy around the "
ABCD of equality
" in 2014: this device aimed at promoting equality between girls and boys had to be abandoned. in the face of controversy, its opponents having denounced an alleged “
gender theory
” which would deny sexual differences.
“
We are not looking for litigation at all costs
,
”
commented Sarah Durocher, of Family Planning.
“
All we ask is that the sessions really be put in place
”.