Canadian Students Stage Mass Walk Out in Protest of Outdated Sex Ed
More than 38,000 students from 75 different schools across Canada staged a mass walk out in protest to an outdated sex education curriculum, the Toronto Star reports.
Organised largely on social media, the walk out was sparked by the repeal of the 2015 Health and Physical Education curriculum for elementary students. The program was replaced by an older sex ed program from the 90s which deliberately ignores issues such as gender identity, same-sex relationships, and consent.
“A walkout is a classic student protest strategy; it shows that we value something over our learning,” said Thea Baines, one of the 17-year-old organisers of the event.
“In this case, we value a good education over having an outdated and not-inclusive education, which is what the Ford government is bringing back.
“It will affect the next generation of adults and we want everyone to grow up learning about their bodies, consent, mental health and LGBTQ rights.
“We want to live in a Canada that values diversity and equality.”
15-year-old Malikye Wyseadded: “Since I grew up around (LGBT+ people), I don’t quite understand why we would not include that in our sexual education. There’s not really a difference between same-sex marriage and different-sex marriage, even if it looks like that. Love is love.”
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