Original article (in Serbian) was published on 21/05/2023
Yesterday, Informer attacked the World Health Organization (WHO) for “giving detailed instructions on how young children should masturbate”. However, this is an incorrect claim – the alleged “instruction” does not exist, but rather the document “Sexual Education Standards in Europe”, which is 13 years old, and WHO participated in its creation. It is intended for decision-makers and experts, not for children, and represents a kind of contribution to sex education on the old continent – it gives an overview of physical and psychological changes in children at different ages, recommendations to give information to children and young people about things that interest them – such as the body, gender, masturbation, sex, emotions, rights, reproduction and the like – in order to acquire certain knowledge and skills and build positive attitudes towards sexuality, minorities, equality, emotional relationships, but also awareness of risks, responsibilities, as well as own and others’ boundaries.
“PEOPLE, ARE YOU NORMAL?! The WHO gave detailed instructions on how young children should masturbate”, states Informer in the title, explaining that the “scandalous report” of the World Health Organization reveals that “children under the age of four should (…) learn everything about the enjoyment and pleasure of touching their own body, and above all about masturbation”.
In 2020, Alo wrote also that WHO advocates for a “morbid and bizarre thing”, i.e. it “promotes the education of children aged 0 to 4 about masturbation and ‘gender identity’”.
The document they mentioned is called “Sexual Education Standards in Europe” and dates from 2010. The Regional Office of the World Health Organization for Europe (WHO) participated in its creation. The document was compiled by experts from various fields – from medicine to psychology and social sciences and is available in several languages.
Contrary to Informer’s claims that it is a “detailed instruction on how to make young children masturbate”, this document represents a “framework for political decision-makers, educational and health institutions and experts”. So, first of all, it is not intended for children.
The text provides an overview of the physical and psychological development of children and young people from birth to teenage years and gives examples of topics that are of interest to children and young people at certain ages. Among other things, as it is written in this document, in the first ten years, children can discover masturbation and general exploration of their bodies, as well as interest in other people’s bodies. Moreover, during the first six years of life, children become aware of their bodies and develop sexual feelings already in early childhood.
“Between the second and third years of life, they discover the physical differences between men and women. During this period, children begin to discover their own bodies (masturbation in early childhood, stimulation) and can try to explore the bodies of their friends (playing doctor). Children learn about their environment through experimentation, and in this regard, sexuality is no different from other areas”, states this document.
In the second part of the document, there is also a tabular overview of various topics that interest children and young people depending on their age, as well as information, skills and attitudes that children should adopt.
These recommendations are intended for adults and represent a kind of instruction on how to approach children while respecting their curiosity and how to address their questions regarding sexuality and the body.
For example, adults are recommended to talk with children up to four years of age, using adequate language that they can understand, about masturbation, that is, about this type of bodily pleasure, about the discovery of one’s genitals, to present the enjoyment of physical closeness as a normal part everyone’s life. Also, children should start learning, according to these guidelines, about the autonomy of their own bodies, that is, about “expressing their own needs, wishes and limits (for example, in the context of playing doctor)”.
Basically, at this age, children should develop a positive attitude about their body and its functions, curiosity about their own and other people’s bodies, but with respect for others.
This document is 13 years old, but it has come to the attention of the British public in recent weeks. Namely, conservative forces there criticized it after the document was referred to by the Welsh ministers who introduced sex education in schools last year. The British tabloid Daily Mail wrote about this in the previous days, from where Informer took the exaggerated claims.
Conservatives in the United Kingdom argue that it is about excessive sexualization of children. Laura Ann Jones from the Conservative Party called on the government to distance itself from the “disturbing WHO guidelines”.
“We need to stop pushing harmful gender ideology into sexuality education in Wales and Great Britain”, Jones said, as the Telegraph reports.
The spokesperson of the World Health Organization told the Telegraph that the WHO stands by the guidelines.
“Our guidelines reflect established psychological facts about children’s understanding of their own bodies and psychosocial development based on decades of research”, the WHO told the Telegraph.
Furthermore, in 2020, claims appeared suggesting that this document “pushes” children into sexual relations too early, which the USA Today web portal assessed as incorrect.
Otherwise, as stated in this document, it was created “as a response to the need for sexual education standards. Most Western European countries already have national guidelines or minimum standards of sexual education, but there have been no attempts to shape standards at the level of the European Union or the European region”.
The document states that “traditional sexual education has focused on potential risks such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (…). Such sexual education does not meet their (children’s and youth’s) needs for information and skills”.
It is noted that the need for sexual education has been stimulated by various events during the past ten years – globalization, migration, technological progress, the emergence and spread of HIV/AIDS, and greater concern about sexual abuse of children and adolescents…
“Newspapers require effective strategies for young people to be able to deal with their sexuality safely and satisfactorily”.
To explain why sexual education should begin before the age of four, the experts who wrote this report state that a child’s education begins from birth – first non-verbally, and later verbally.
“Sexual education is part of a child’s general education, even when it seems unconscious. (…) Parents are simultaneously role models for gender roles and the expression of emotions, sexuality and tenderness. By not talking about sexuality (for example, not naming the genitals) parents are also teaching something about sexuality (their silence can be interpreted as discomfort)”.