COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND COMPULSORY SEX AND RELATIONSHIP EDUCATION

That this House congratulates the UK on signing the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse; notes that Article 6 of the Convention states that each party shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that children, during primary and secondary education, receive information on the risks of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, as well as on the means to protect themselves, adapted to their evolving capacity and this information, provided in collaboration with parents, where appropriate, shall be given within a more general context of information on sexuality and shall pay special attention to situations of risk, especially those involving the use of new information and communication technologies; and therefore calls on the Government to make age-appropriate, gender-sensitive sex and relationship education compulsory both through legislative proposals and its current review of sex and relationship education delivery.