Parent group says more supervision needed after presentation of graphic sexual material at SK School

The head of a grassroots parent group in Saskatchewan thinks education departments across the country need to be more vigilant about materials offered in school sex education.

This comes after a deck of playing cards called “Sex: From AZ” found its way into a class 9 in Lumsden, Saskatchewan.

The cards contain descriptions of explicit sexual practices involving feces, urine, and semen.

The cards were brought in by a Planned Parenthood presenter, though the organization has said the material was not part of the main presentation, calling it “secondary material.”

In response, Saskatchewan Secretary of Education Dustin Duncan issued a temporary ban on Planned Parenthood presentations in Saskatchewan schools, with a review to take place in the summer.

But Nadine Ness of Unified Grassroots believes the problem runs deeper than what one organization would characterize as a flaw.

“I think there should be more oversight of who has access to our children at our school. There are other organizations working to get this stuff in,” she said, pointing to similar incidents elsewhere.

For example, in March 2023 in Fort Nelson, BC, the same deck of cards was used by a public health presenter for 8th and 9th grade students, sparking parental concern and resulting in Northern Health apologize on his Facebook page.

Ness said it appears to be part of a trend.

“There’s a kind of escalation of child sexualization,” she said. “And I find that very concerning, although not surprising.”

The 26 cards have a sexual term, with a cartoon, for each letter of the alphabet.

Ness said her parents contacted her at school after it happened.

As a former police officer, she said she was shocked by some of the cards.

“It made me sick,” she said. And for her, it is equally concerning that the material has been taken to a school.

“The fact that facilitators… would even put that in their materials to bring to the school. It shows their mindset,” she said.

For its part, Planned Parenthood has apologized to the school department for what happened.

“As part of our education and outreach programs, we also bring secondary materials, aimed at answering specific questions young people may have about sex, sexuality and their health. During this visit, a tool that the school did not approve ended up in the hands of a student. Planned Parenthood apologizes for the difficult situation our Prairie Valley School Division partners have found themselves in as a result of this incident,” the group said in a statement. statement posted on his Facebook page.

However, the statement goes on to say that Planned Parenthood Regina is “disappointed” with the government’s decision to suspend them from presenting in schools.

“We believe that all young people, including 2SLGBTQIAP+ young people, have the right to access relevant, affirmative and fact-based information about sex, gender and sexuality. Access to this type of education has been shown to increase media literacy, delay the onset of sexual activity among young people, reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy, and prevent serious mental health crises, including suicide among 2SLGHTQIAP+ youth. say.

Ness said the fact that similar incidents have occurred in other schools across the country shows that governments need to take a more active role in ensuring sex education materials follow approved curricula — and keep a closer eye on what outside presenters bring in .

“I think the government needs to pay more attention,” she said. “But governments are too scared to say, ‘Hey, maybe this isn’t the best thing for the kids.'”

So while she approves of Saskatchewan’s temporary measures following the maps, she believes it’s a bigger problem.

“I hope they start making a more detailed curriculum,” she said. “When it comes to the sex education curriculum, especially since it’s so controversial for parents, it would be good if there were strict guidelines on that so parents know exactly what their children are being exposed to.”

Ness said they are not against sex education, but presenting things that clash with the values ​​that parents try to instill in their children creates problems.

“It doesn’t fit with the family’s values. And the majority of the parents I’ve spoken to really don’t like this, especially the way they teach the whole gender is just a social construct,” she said.

“Everyone is too scared to talk about it… it’s a problem,” she said.

The cards are available through a group called Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE), which is funded in part by the Public Health Agency of Canada. The listing for the cards on CATIE’s website has since been removed, but in 2015 – after a similar incident at a school in Chilliwack, BC – a spokesperson said told the National Post the cards were never intended to be used with minors in schools.