Council of Europe Conference to mark the European Day against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children

Speech by Dunja Mijatović

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights

Strasbourg, 12 November 2020

Good afternoon to you all and thank you very much for the invitation to contribute to this important event!

The world we and our children live in is often described as over-sexualised. Children are exposed to sexualised images and messages from the media, advertisements and popular culture on a daily basis, in fact they are often themselves represented in a sexualised way. In this environment – as you just discussed – there is also a growing number of child self-generated sexual images and videos circulating, which presents a serious risk of abuse and exploitation.

So, why do we need comprehensive sexuality education? I believe that the need for that today is as urgent as it has ever been.

The right of children and young people to receive comprehensive sexuality education is well established in international human rights law. It derives from a range of protected rights, such as the right to live free from violence and discrimination, the right to the highest attainable standard of mental and physical health, the right to receive and impart information and the right to quality and inclusive education, including human rights education.

Comprehensive sexuality education means that it is about cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality. It goes beyond biology and reproduction and truly equips children with knowledge about their bodies and their rights, while also teaching them about gender equality, sexual orientations and gender identities. This is necessary for children to feel good about themselves and to develop safe and respectful social and sexual relationships throughout their lives.

There is strong evidence for the benefits of comprehensive sexuality education for children and young people. They include delayed sexual initiation, reduced risk-taking, increased use of contraception, and improved attitudes towards sexual and reproductive health. In addition, sexuality education helps children better protect themselves against violence, including sexual abuse and exploitation, and it equips them with skills to identify risks and protect themselves against sexual predators online. This has become particularly important during the current pandemic when children have been spending significantly more time online and, as we know, have become more vulnerable to online forms of sexual exploitation.

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