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'Sex education a must for Swedish learners'

Paul O'Mahony
Paul O'Mahony - [email protected]
'Sex education a must for Swedish learners'

Sex education should form part of the curriculum for all adults attending Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) classes, a new government report has proposed.

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Writing in Dagens Nyheter, the author of the report, Anders Milton, says SFI classes "should include tuition on sexual and reproductive health, relationships, gender equality, values, and different ways of viewing sexuality."

Milton argues this will give immigrants "better knowledge about their own sexual and reproductive health, and also knowledge that is valuable for them in their role as parents".

Speaking to The Local after the report had been handed over to Minister for Health and Social Affairs Göran Hägglund, Milton said the SFI proposal was directed primarily at refugees.

"Most refugees in Sweden come from countries that are not democracies and are often quite authoritarian and have a conservative cultural outlook.

"They have never had information about sexual and reproductive health and I think this is something people need," he said.

Milton added that he believed people from democratic societies were very much in the minority in SFI classes.

"Honestly, how many people are we talking about? 200? 500 maybe? But the lion's share are refugees."

Milton said he thought it would be unnecessary for people from functioning democracies to sit through classes on sex education. He added however that finding a practical solution did not fall under his remit.

"Clearly people from the UK, US or Canada, for example, know these things already. But it can be sorted out on a case by case basis. It's something that can be worked out locally," he said.

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