Generation XXX
Canada's sex ed curricula late in addressing porn
W5 Staff
The average kid first looks at porn at the age of eleven, according to Gail Dines, professor of sociology and women’s studies at Wheelock College in Boston and anti-porn crusader.
“I think we need to think of boys as victims of the porn industry,” Dines told W5’s Victor Malarek. “These boys do not go to porn looking for sadistic violent sex because they’re not sadists. They go because you know their hormones are running around in their bodies. They’re interested in sex and the place they’ve been told to go is porn.”
Dines said their sex education is being provided by pornographers.
But what do Canadian sex education curricula have to say about pornography? W5 asked the education authorities in Canada’s ten provinces and three territories to tell us.
None of the provincial or territorial curricula for elementary school children mention pornography. This topic is typically addressed in Grade 9. Teachers in some jurisdictions are made aware of available online resources should they choose to address the topic. But it is not mandatory.
So while governments have made it their priority to teach various aspects of human sexuality in the elementary schools, the dangers of accessing and becoming addicted to online pornography is not one of them.
See the summary of responses from each province and territory below.
ALBERTA
Alberta does not have a separate sexual education curriculum. Human sexuality education is offered in grades 4 to 9 in the Kindergarten to Grade 9 Health and Life Skills program and the high school Career and Life Management program. Last updated in 2002, neither document makes any mention of “pornography.”
Individual Alberta school boards have developed programs specifically catered to certain age groups. For example, the Calgary Board of Education has established the WiseGuyz Sexual Health Program for Grade 9 boys that is currently running in five schools. The topics include human rights, sexual health, gender & sexual diversity and healthy relationships.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Topics on human sexuality are mandatory for all B.C. students through the Physical and Health Education Curriculum. Sexuality is first addressed in Grade 4, but W5’s review of the curriculum failed to find any mention of pornography.
MANITOBA
The provincial curriculum does not specifically refer to Internet pornography at primary levels. The Physical Education and Health Education Curriculum addresses unsafe situations and promotes personal safety.
In Literacy with Information and Communication Technology, schools are expected to discuss ethical and unethical uses of technology with students “which could encompass pornography” a provincial government spokesperson told W5.
NEW BRUNSWICK
In New Brunswick, the Health Education Curriculum: Kindergarten to Grade 5 was last updated in 2001, while the curricula for Grades 6, 7 and 8 were updated in 2005. A review of these documents did not find any mention of pornography.
NEWFOUNDLAND
A review of the Health curricula guides did not find any mention of pornography. Sex is first mentioned in Grade 2 in context of recognizing “sexually harassing comments” and the Internet is discussed in terms of personal safety.
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The Northwest Territories K-9 health education curriculum was last updated in the 1990s. The changes occurring during puberty are first discussed in Grade 4. A spokesperson for NWT Education Renewal told W5 that a new curriculum is in development and that licensed resources are available to schools through the MediaSmarts NGO that provides resources for parents and teachers to discuss pornography.
NOVA SCOTIA
Documentation provided by Nova Scotia made no specific mention of pornography. “The potential risks and harms associated with online pornography are addressed through Health Education curriculum in grades 8 and 9. Online awareness begins in grades 4-5 where students are taught they can tell a safe adult if something they read or see online makes them uncomfortable” a spokesperson told W5.
Nova Scotia provides health education teachers with resources from The Canadian Centre for Child Protection www.protectchildren.ca and www.thedoorthatsnotlocked.ca. Since 2013, a separate Healthy Living class for 200-300 adolescent males in Nova Scotia has provided a “safe space” to have conversations about issues impacting their health, including pornography, has reached between 200-300 male students in Nova Scotia.
NUNAVUT
Nunavut follows the Northwest Territories’ School Health Program (where there is no mention of pornography). A spokesperson for Nunavut’s government told W5 that Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have “begun to talk … about refreshing the curriculum together.”
This fall, Nunavut is planning to deliver a graphic novel called “Choices” on sexual health to Grade 7-9 students and teachers. The only reference to pornography found in Nunavut’s educational resources was a requirement to report child pornography to police.
ONTARIO
Ontario’s new sex education curriculum states that “Research shows that children now enter puberty earlier. Young people now have widespread access to the Internet, social media and smart phones, giving them easy access to both helpful and potentially harmful and incorrect information.” But Internet pornography is not specifically mentioned in the primary grades. Pornography is first referenced in the grade 9 Health and Physical Education curriculum in context of “harmful or undesirable information and entertainment.”
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
No direct reference to pornography was found in PEI curricula documents, but a government spokesperson told W5 that the province subscribes to Media Smarts “which includes information for parents and teachers of kids that are a little older,” including Talking to Kids about Pornography and Responding to Online Pornography.
QUEBEC
“Sexuality education” is in its infancy in Quebec. Some 15 schools will carry out a pilot project during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years. Sexuality education (5 to 15 hours per year) could be extended to all schools starting in 2017-2018. In a 2014 “Parents’ guide for discussing sexuality with their teens,” the Quebec government advises that “the Internet should be accessed in a common room in the house, which lets parents better manage access and, in particular, reduces surfing on pornographic sites.”
SASKATCHEWAN
The topic of internet pornography is not a stand-alone topic in this province’s curriculum. “Teachers in Saskatchewan have the flexibility to teach beyond the existing curriculum, and incorporate new and emerging concepts when and where appropriate to support their students,” a government spokesperson told W5.
YUKON
The Yukon follows the learning outcomes of the BC Health and Career Education K-9. These are general outcomes and are not specifically related to pornography but rather sexual exploitation and internet luring. Optional resources available to teachers include: Kids in the Know, which comes from protectchildren.ca and teaches that pornographic material is not representative of healthy relationships; and Media smarts that discusses pornography and sexual exploitation.
