Sexuality Headlines: Education, Law and Rights

Weekly roundups of sexuality news rarely contain full stories, yet their headlines reveal which subjects keep resurfacing in public debate. One such list from Sexlife Canada, made up only of titles, touched on schooling, the law, family life and the rights of sexual and gender minorities. Several of those subjects remain open questions in Canada and elsewhere.

Where young people learn about sex

A handful of titles concerned teenagers. One suggested that young people would rather ask the internet than an adult, another claimed that schools fall short on sex education, and a survey headline described parents as role models for teen sexuality. Together they capture a standing disagreement about whether schools, families or online sources carry the main responsibility. In Canada, provinces and territories set their own curricula, so content and timing differ across the country.

Sex work and the courts

A second cluster dealt with prostitution law. Titles mentioned lawyers and sex workers awaiting a ruling, rival groups preparing to speak at a landmark appeal, and the observation that sex workers already live next door. The appeal belonged to the Bedford challenge, which questioned how the Criminal Code restricted activities around prostitution. The case reached the Supreme Court of Canada, which struck down three provisions, and Parliament then passed new legislation. Sex workers, advocates and lawmakers still hold sharply different views on the result.

Rights, schools and identity

Other headlines looked at a United Nations council resolution on gay rights, a state senator in the United States announcing support for same-sex marriage, and a school board in Burnaby, British Columbia, adopting a policy meant to make schools safer for gay students. Items about a transgender woman considering a run for national office and a long documentary about a transgender model pointed to growing visibility of gender diversity.

The list closed with miscellaneous items on monogamy, kissing, the SlutWalk movement and a statement by national organizations supporting the sexual and reproductive health rights of Indigenous peoples.