When we come to talk about gender education or about sex education, we cannot separate between the contents and curriculums and the atmosphere at the schools, in these contexts.
In education, there is a crucial significance to the congruence between what we want to teach and the manner in which we conduct ourselves in relation to the studied subject. The most prominent example to such lack of congruence one can find in the Facebook page, “Not keeping silent; fighting for freedom and equality”. To those unfamiliar with the page, it was created by teenage girls in protest of the “parades” that they undergo at school with relation to their body and their attire, and the comments and the demeaning, and even objectifying treatment that they receive. Anyone sitting here must read the testimonies written there first-handed in order to understand that no conversation, no lesson and no sex education curriculum is relevant while the girls are sent home reprimanded and shamefaced because of a cleavage or an exposed thigh or shoulder. The message to the girls, according to which they are not allowed to be sexual because there are repercussions; the message that they are responsible, because of their bodies or attire, to the achievements or failures of the boys, who cannot concentrate on their studies because of them (because “boys will be boys”); and subsequently, also the message of blaming the victim, in other words, don’t be surprised if you are harassed, or even attacked when you are dressed like this, are all messages that interfere with integrating the messages of sex education in the classroom, because those are inconsistent with the reality that the girls know from the school’s conduct and policy.
The situation is similar also in context of gender education. As long as the “gender sensitivity” at the schools causes different “gender incidents” to “slip by” unnoticed, with no explanation, instruction or mediation (and to this, students, both male and female, who do possess this sensitivity testify), then also in this case, the benefit of gender education will be very slight, if not negligible.
In light of this, our demand is that efforts and mostly resources will be directed, already at the stage of training teachers and headmasters/headmistresses, to embracing and enhancing the gender sensitivity and awareness, while giving tools to deal with displays of sexism, chauvinism, and objectifying, belittling, silencing and even demeaning girls. Sadly, these things exist today at the educational institutes, and they are not always dealt with properly. As said, more resources are needed in order to strengthen this awareness among the educational staff that is responsible for the teenage boys and girls, so that the atmosphere created and the policy implemented will be appropriate to the messages delivered in the framework of the different programs for gender and sex education.