The “Protect children, support parents” legislative initiative to prevent the sexualization of young children has been endorsed by Elżbieta Witek, the speaker of the Polish parliament.
According to Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, the early sexualization of children leads to psychological problems and later social problems. He argued that there need to be legal barriers against such practices in schools and that “outlandish ideas we don’t wish to comment on are not realized at the expense of our children.” Kaczyński added that “adults have the right to make their own decisions regarding their contacts, but children must be protected.”
Speaker Elżbieta Witek, who was for decades a school teacher, said that 20 to 30 years ago the threats to children that are present today did not exist. She revealed that she had been contacted by parents pleading for help to counter the dangerous trends affecting their children.
She explained that it is not just an issue of demoralization but also of security, as there are regular reports of violence and aggression in schools. “Unlimited access to the internet for our children gives them access to content that is often harmful to their psyche and development,” she warned.
According to Witek, “Nowadays, parents often do not know how to cope with many of the problems affecting their children.” This means that children were often “alone” in coping with vulgarity and obscenity in cyberspace.
She fully agreed with Kaczyński on the early sexualization of children. “Not long ago, a mother came to see me and said her child had come home from playschool crying. It turns out that the teacher had asked the children to cross-dress and photographed them, and when the mother saw the photograph of her son dressed as a girl, she also cried and understood why the child was so upset.”
The speaker of Poland’s parliament recalled that the Polish constitution guarantees parents the right to educate their children in accordance with their values. She said that this was a basic right of all parents and claimed that schools should help parents in bringing up children instead of undermining them.
