Anonymous Letters Spark Fears, Disrupt Sex Education Rollout in Loire-Atlantique schools
NANTES, France - A wave of anonymous letters falsely alleging explicit content in upcoming sex education lessons has triggered anxiety among parents and students in schools across Loire-Atlantique, disrupting the implementation of a new national program designed to protect children. The letters, sent to multiple schools in the region, have prompted some students to exhibit distress and raised concerns among teachers about their ability to deliver vital lessons on emotional life and social relationships.
The controversy comes as France intensifies efforts to address the alarming rate of child sexual abuse - with one child becoming a victim of incest, rape, or sexual assault every three minutes. The new national sex education program,mandated by the Education Code and rolled out this year,aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools to recognize and prevent such abuse. While the program focuses on emotional life and social relationships in primary school, with more explicit sexuality education beginning in secondary school, the anonymous letters have fueled misinformation and undermined public trust.
Annabel Cattoni, a representative for the Snesup-FSU teachers’ union, reported instances of students covering their ears or leaving classrooms due to fears stoked by the letters. “I have had students who covered their ears or who left the class. These reactions come from families who are convinced that we are going to show pornographic images to children, which is completely false,” she stated.
The situation has also created “unease” among teaching staff,with some hesitant to implement the program due to a lack of adequate training and resources. “Some teachers have not yet taken up the program because they did not have the tools,” Cattoni explained to RTL.Despite these challenges, she emphasized the program’s importance, calling it ”a vital lesson.”
The national program requires at least three annual sessions on sex education in schools, colleges, and high schools, providing a standardized framework for teachers and clarifying the content of these sessions. Authorities are working to address the misinformation and support teachers in delivering these crucial lessons.
