Starting Sept. 1, parents and caregivers will need to opt in for their children to receive school-based sexual health education, and the YWCAs of Alberta want parents to keep that in mind.
The change comes as a result of newly instituted Government of Alberta classroom policies.
Katherine O’Neill, chief executive officer of YWCA Edmonton, said the organization is trying to be proactive during a busy time of year. With school getting underway, parents have a lot on their minds.
“A lot of parents either know about this new legislation or might have heard about it but not understood what it really meant,” O’Neill said. “I've got three kids in the system, and I know I'm super busy just getting back-to-school supplies.”
The campaign, run through the YWCAs of Alberta — Edmonton, Calgary, Banff and Lethbridge — aims to highlight the importance of sexual health education for youth. From their perspective, it gives young people the tools to build healthy relationships, understand consent, develop empathy, and help prevent gender-based violence.
According to the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services, as of 2019, two in three females and one in three males in Alberta have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. Approximately 43 per cent of Albertans — 1.8 million people — have experienced sexual violence.
“When there is sexual violence or domestic violence, we work with a lot of folks on counselling and recovery,” O’Neill said. “We know that good education goes a long way in making sure our communities are safe. We understand the bigger picture here, and that's why we felt we had to come out and be very clear that we think this is valuable for our communities. We just want parents to understand the choices they have.”
O’Neill reiterated how confusing the start of the school year can be. She said her biggest fear is that kids won’t get the education they need because of a missed or lost form. A bevy of forms and the beginning of the school year go hand-in-hand.
“It's perfect for back-to-school,” she said. “Everyone's getting the backpacks and the books and the pencils. And now we're talking about sex. So here we go — sex and backpacks.”
