MOSCOW, September 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s ombudsman for children’s rights said Wednesday that he opposed sexual education classes in schools, adding that reading Russian literature was the best way to inform a child about sexual relations.
“The best sexual education is Russian literature and literature in general. Children should read more, and [literature] has everything about love and relations between the sexes. Schools should teach children chastity and family values,” ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.
He said sexual education for schoolchildren should be banned because such information, if taught in an improper way, could have a negative impact on a child’s mental and physical health and make him or her more vulnerable to sexual crimes.
“I oppose any type of sexual education,” he said. “Such activities should be banned, first of all, in line with the law guaranteeing basic children’s rights […] and in line with the law protecting children from harmful information.”
As an alternative, Astakhov suggested lessons in family ethics and reproductive health, like those that were taught to teenagers in the Soviet Union.
“Once a month, a person came to us and talked to us about reproductive health and the difference between boys and girls. … This won’t do any harm – but only starting from the age of 15 or 16,” he said.
