A Welsh councillor has been threatened and called a “paedo lover” over her support for new relationship and sex education (RSE) in Wales. Beca Brown, a Plaid Cymru member of Gwynedd council said that the lessons will “keep children safe.”
According to the BBC:
The Welsh government is introducing the RSE code as part of the new curriculum, and said it is “vital to support young people build healthy relationships”.
But some question the lack of a parental opt-out and one group has won the right to a judicial review on this issue.
The response to the sex education changes made headlines in Gwynedd in August when police were called to a council meeting discussing the subject.
Ms Brown – a member of the Plaid Cymru administration – said there has been “a polarising response” to the new code.
“There’s been a lot of negative public response, but privately, many people have been supportive,” she told Newyddion S4C.
“We’ve been called – some of us [councillors]- paedophiles. I’ve been called a ‘paedo lover’.
“I’ve been threatened, too. Someone said I’d put a rope around my own neck by supporting the code. Someone else said I deserved the death penalty.”
She added: “The police have been here to talk to me about safety measures – what I can do to keep myself and my home safe.
“That wasn’t something I’d expected when I took charge of the council’s education portfolio.”
The new sex and relationships curriculum introduces children to different kinds of relationships, body development, sex and sexuality, and how to feel safe in a relationship.
Some opponents claim the changes “sexualise” young pupils.
The Welsh government denied accusations that young children will be taught about specific sex acts, and said this was “misinformation”.
However, the decision to stop parents taking children out of lessons is a worry for some. A judicial review will be held on 15 November in the High Court, after a group of parents challenged the lack of an opt-out.
