Condoms and porn – sex education classes spark heated debate

A ‘Krone’ report last year about the disturbing sex education class at a Viennese primary school caused quite a stir. Children were flooded with “woman dolls” and other aids and cried. Now parents are breaking their silence and reporting on other incidents that have taken place in the past three years.

The “Krone” has more than 30 verified cases reported by concerned parents, including a case of a primary school in Lower Austria where students in the third grade are taught to use condoms with champagne glasses. “My eight-year-old daughter was upset, she was completely beside herself,” says a shocked mother. An equally disturbing case at a high school in Styria: “My son, then 14, had to write on a piece of paper how often he masturbated. One boy dropped the note on the floor. Another saw what was written on it and blurted it out, all the kids were laughing,” says a woman who can’t believe what happened.

Several cases were discussed in Salzburg. Representatives of an association (names known to the editors) explained to the nine- and ten-year-olds that pornography was “like an action movie.” Angry parents told the “Krone” that their children had returned home from sex education class “embarrassed and upset.”

Teaching material comes as a shock to many parents
Most of the time, the incidents are downplayed or dismissed as ‘isolated incidents’, as if the children themselves would be blamed if they overreacted to the content. The problem is less with the schools or the classroom teachers. The irritations are rather caused by associations or specialized bodies that are appointed to the schools to do educational work.

This also happened in a fourth grade at a secondary school in the Mühlviertel (Upper Austria). “I was able to look at the teaching material at the parents’ evening and was shocked. The books showed sexual acts between homosexuals and transsexuals and relatively few heterosexuals. You have to introduce them slowly, but not with pornography,” says a father. “When I complained, he said the director that the teaching material was controlled by the highest authority.”

‘Sex education makes children curious’
Another father complains that the sex education classes make the children excessively curious and lead them to pornography in the first place: “My son, 10 years old, wanted to see a sex movie after that, he was not interested before that.”

The Ministry of Education has several grievances. Section Head Doris Wagner: “We recommend that teachers engage with the topic of sex education. They know their students best and can educate them not only in an age-appropriate way, but also in a way that suits their development. This can happen, for example, in the context of biology or science lessons. Parents should be more involved.”

In the event that education is not taken over by schools, it is important “that the teacher stays in the room”. It is precisely here that violations occur again and again, because the relevant club staff sends the teachers on their way. “There is a circular that stipulates that a teacher of the children and young people must be present. It is imperative that this is complied with,” says Wagner.

Office to guarantee quality
Now a specially established agency or committee must guarantee the quality of the external providers. “It will be available in the 2022/2023 school year,” Wagner emphasizes. Parents should in any case be vigilant and check the teaching materials.