The over-sexualisation of children must be stopped.
Current teaching on marriage, sex and identity is not
protecting our children from harm, says Dr Julie
Maxwell. That’s why she is encouraging Christians
to sign the Greater Love Declaration, which launched
recently,
The Greater Love Declaration is a statement of classic,
orthodox Christian teaching on marriage, sex and identity.
It affirms the essential and unchangeable place of this teaching in Christian theology and its foundation in Christ’s own example
of self-giving love. Those who sign it are committing to
upholding, teaching and proclaiming this message.
I was pleased to be one of the declaration’s co-authors,
but why is it needed? Why are Christian ministers and
pastoral workers speaking up about Christian teachings
on sex? One reason is increasing awareness of the sexualisation of children.
WE ARE NOT TEACHING CHILDREN THAT RESTRAINING SEXUAL DESIRES CAN BE GOOD, BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT TEENAGERS NEED TO HEAR
As a paediatrician and a parent, I have been concerned
about the sexualisation of children for many years. And the
situation is only getting worse. Almost every day, the media
carries stories of children being exposed to highly sexualised
material, whether through social media, relationships and
sex education (RSE) in schools, and even events such as
Drag Queen story times for pre-schoolers in public libraries.
Many parents are increasingly concerned about the nature
of some of the things their children are being exposed to,
but do not always feel able to question it or speak out. But
there are a growing number of organisations – Christian
and secular – exposing the groups delivering inappropriate
content to children and young people, and supporting parents
to do the same (for example, The Christian Institute and
Safe Schools Alliance).
WHAT ARE WE TEACHING THEM?
In the name of ‘non-judgementalism’, adults are not
be good, or that some sexual acts may be harmful or less
than ideal. But that is exactly what teenagers need to hear.
This is strikingly different to the approach taken with children
over issues such as healthy eating, drugs and alcohol.
Children are told that ‘heteronormativity’ must be smashed,
giving the impression that faithful love between a man and a
woman is bad. They are not taught about the many benefits
of faithful heterosexual marriage, for fear of making children
in other types of families feel left out.
In the name of being ‘sex-positive’, all sorts of extreme and
harmful sexual practices are condoned, or even encouraged
as long as there is mutual consent. This does not take into
account peer pressure or lack of teenage understanding of
long-term consequences. The legal age of consent is 16 because
it is deemed that below that age a child is not capable of
consenting to sex; yet children are being repeatedly told that only they know when they are ready.
Young children are being taught lessons and read story books
intended to increase their acceptance of LGBTQ+ people.
Some people recognise talking about sex is inappropriate
with young children, so they talk about same-sex relationships
in terms which are actually describing friendship. This can
lead to confusion as children may believe that, because they
like spending time with their same-sex friends, they must
actually be gay or bisexual. This is especially problematic
when children are questioned about sexuality prior to puberty - and before they have experienced any sexual attraction.
Friendship is a vital aspect of growing up. Explaining to
a child that close same-sex relationships are normal - and
not necessarily an indicator that they might be gay -
is important.
HARM, NOT HELP
What’s most concerning is that so much of this is happening
in schools or on the internet via supposedly reputable
organisations, including sexual health charities. The very
people who should be protecting and safeguarding
vulnerable children are in fact exposing them to harm.
Many are doing this with the best of intentions, but the
approach is nonetheless damaging.
CHILDREN ARE BEING EXPOSED TO HIGHLY SEXUALISED MATERIAL THROUGH EVENTS SUCH AS DRAG QUEEN STORY TIME FOR PRE-SCHOOLERS
For too long, Christians have been relatively silent on this issue. When I first embarked on questioning the content of RSE over ten years ago, several Christian friends did not stand with me. Thankfully,
I found information and support from Lovewise and Family Education Trust.
The need is greater than ever for church leaders and pastoral
workers to affirm historic, Christian teaching on marriage,
sex and identity. The Greater Love Declaration encourages
and empowers leaders and parents to be confident in the
goodness of relationships as God intended them to be.
I encourage you to join me in signing the Greater Love
Declaration. We need to be at the forefront of protecting
our children from the harmful narratives that surround
them and counteracting this with a far better story.
Dr Julie Maxwell MBBCh MRCPCH is a community paediatrician and a member of the Church of England General Synod. She works part time for Lovewise and is a trustee of Family Education Trust. She has over 20 years’ experience of church youth work and is co-author of the Greater Love Declaration.
