UN exec: 'Woke absurdities' not in sex ed bill

The supposed "woke absurdities" that President Marcos objects to in the proposed legislation to prevent teenage pregnancy are not in the text of the bill and even in the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education, an official of the United Nations said yesterday.

- By JANVIC MATEO

Roi Avena, deputy representative of the UN Population Fund to the Philippines, urged policymakers to discuss the merits of the bill based on accurate scientific evidence and correct information.

"We have read the bill and we have not seen any mention of these at all... It's not in the bill," Avena said in an interview with "Storycon" on One News when asked about concepts opposed by various groups, such as masturbation for very young children and "exploration" of different genders at a young age.

"These are not in the guidelines and the terms of the bill itself... (They are) not part of the international guidance that we teach about these concepts," he added referring to the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education released by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Countries adapt the guidelines based on their local contexts, according to the UN official.

“Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is really about age-appropriate and culturally sensitive comprehensive sexuality education. It’s really about equipping adolescents with essential knowledge about sexual and reproductive health,” Avena said.

“International standards are meant to be able to guide on what is the best scientific evidence available in many other contexts, but at the end of the day, it’s really the decision of the country as to how it will adopt these standards. The element of contextualization needs to be highlighted,” he added.