False information about comprehensive sexuality education has been non-stop disseminated by groups of allegedly concerned parents, so one cannot help but wonder: What sort of values are nurtured by people who knowingly lie, slander and incite hatred?
HERA vehemently denies the fabrications about comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) that will not subside third school year in a row. The latest in a series of lies which have been planted intentionally and in an orchestrated way with a single purpose to defame our organisation and stir up panic and fear from CSE and gender equality comes from Gordana Godjo, the president of the civil society organisation “Od nas za nas” [“From Us – For Us”] – and it is a lie that can be readily exposed with a single click!
In her latest post on this topic, published on her Facebook profile on 2 September, she tendentiously shares a worksheet which forms part of the teaching material for an elective subject which she brings into correlation with the current Concept Note on Primary Education. In this way, she is misguiding the people following her profile to think that this worksheet has been developed as part of the educational reforms, and as such, is (to be) used in the 4th and 6th grades.
A single click reveals that that the worksheets shared actually form part of the curriculum on Life Skills Education for the 4th and 6th grades (pp. 259-260), which was introduced into the education system back in 2009/2010, the contents of which are mandatory to be instructed during the homeroom class. In other words, she paints an image of CSE using teaching materials from a curriculum which constitutes no part of the primary education reforms, and which are pending revision in compliance with the National Standards on Primery Education.
It is exactly because of disseminating similar untruths and lies in the public that in 2021 HERA filed a lawsuit against “Od nas za nas” seeking to establish civil liability on account of insult and defamation. The process is still ongoing.
What is probably less known in the public is that “Od nas za nas” is part of a coalition that, helped by transnational support, defends the harmful patriarchal values, demoting the rights of women and young people, reinforcing the prejudice about fellow citizens found in vulnerable situations or on the margins of the society. In addition to conservative political parties, religious organisations and anti-abortion organisations, the ranks of this coalition also include anonymous groups and Facebook pages, and also people – Godjo included – in relation to whom the Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination has already adopted opinions on committed harassment based on discriminatory speech.
Taking into account their growing action network, particularly on the social media, on the one hand, and the speed at which sensationalistic and false news spread, on the other, we again call upon all people, and particularly on parents and young people, to take a large dose of caution and verify all information about CSE shared on Facebook by “Od nas za nas”, the Coalition for the Protection of Children, the Initiative “There Must Be Schoolbooks and Instruction”, “Libris Plus” and the like.
All these initiatives and organisations pose as being concerned, but their concern cannot be trusted since such posts as the last one directly jeaopardise the right of the children to have access to accurate information about their health, and to knowledge and skills that will allow them to be safer in the future. More so, we cannot help but wonder – what sort of values are nurtured by people who, under the pretext of freedom of speech, knowingly lie, slander and incite hate speech?
