“We take hate speech seriously”

The Reykjavík City Council is proud to collaborate with Samtökin 78, the queer organization of Iceland, when it comes to queer education as well as with the equality school and other city staff involved in education on equality education, human rights and sexual health.

This is reflected in a booking presented by the city council across the political board, together with the observers, yesterday following a presentation of the education in schools, as there has been a lot of discussion recently regarding queer education and sex education in primary schools.

The objectives can be achieved through education

In the booking it is reported that prejudice and violence do not belong in our society. The main goal of the educational policy of the City of Reykjavík is that “all children grow, grow and coexist in a democratic society characterized by human rights and respect for the diversity of human life.” This goal is achieved through education on sex, sexuality and  personal growth, among other things.

“It is clear that the availability of material that can have a negative impact on children is high and its accessibility has increased significantly with the advent of the internet. It is the role of a good school system to help children to assess the information they receive themselves,” according to the council. As a result, it is important that children can receive both sex education and information about queer issues in a balanced way through the school system.

Children learn to set limits

Furthermore, experience indicates that such education leads to children learning to set boundaries and they have felt more empowered to report instances of violence.

In collaboration with the City of Reykjavík, the organization Samtökin 78 is responsible for queer education in the city’s schools, but given the discourse in recent days, the council wants to reaffirm that the organization is not involved in sex education.

The curriculum has been prepared with great professionalism and respect, reads in the booking. The course is well thought out and all materials are tailored to the age it is intended to cover.

“We take hate speech seriously and want our children to learn tolerance and personal growth.”