Rutgers conducted the study to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the Week of Spring Fever. A total of 414 school leaders completed an online questionnaire in February 2020, distributed by DUO Onderwijsonderzoek. The sample was representative of all Dutch schools in terms of holiday region and denomination.
The study found that 98 percent of primary schools provide sex education, of which 90 percent do so structurally and 10 percent occasionally. The attention given per year group rises from 44 percent in year 1 to 95 percent in year 8.
The topics most frequently covered during relationship and sex education lessons are friendship (93%), falling in love and dating (91%), puberty (87%), and sexual resilience (79%). The topic addressed least often in the lessons is sexual pleasure. Only 33% of schools pay attention to this at some point. It is also striking that more than one-third of schools (35 percent) pay no attention to sexual diversity and that only 40 percent use a recognised teaching method approved by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
In response to the figures, COC and Rutgers are calling for stricter educational standards for sex education and diversity. Rutgers expert Elsbeth Reitzema told NOS: “Schools are currently allowed to decide for themselves how they address this topic. That needs to be more specific; schools need to have a better understanding of what is expected of them. Politicians must take action.” Reitzema was shocked by the figures on sexual diversity because, in her view, it is not only important that children receive education about their own bodies and relationships, but also that they learn about sexual diversity at a young age. “Young children may already have homosexual feelings themselves. They need to be told that these feelings are okay, so that they feel accepted.” Reitzema added that diverse sex education is also necessary for children who are heterosexual. “They need to learn that such feelings are normal and not something to bully others about.”
COC recognises Rutgers’ conclusion. According to the organisation, many schools still pay too little attention to sexual and gender identity (for example, being transgender), and this is a serious matter. If, for example, children pick up stereotypical ideas about gay people from the media and these are not discussed in their surroundings or at school, those ideas do not change, COC says.
According to the organisation, one possible approach is to invite a guest who is gay or lesbian themselves. That person can then talk about it in front of the class. COC spokesperson Jan-Willem de Bruin: “At the end of the lesson, the children may still find homosexuality strange, but they will have developed more empathy for others and better understand that everyone wants to be able to be themselves. That is already a step.”