Italian education minister Valditara claims new law protects children from "gender propaganda" as opposition slam parental consent proviso as "mediaeval".Italy's senate on Thursday gave final approval to a law requiring schools to obtain written parental consent before delivering any sex or relationship education to pupils, in a vote that passed with 78 votes in favour and 38 against.The legislation, known as the Valditara Bill after education minister Giuseppe Valditara, had previously cleared the lower house last December. Under the new law, secondary schools - both middle schools (scuole medie, covering pupils aged 11 to 14) and high schools - must secure informed written consent from parents, or from students themselves if they are over 18, before proceeding with any activities or projects relating to sexuality or emotional relationships. In primary and nursery schools, such content is banned outright. Valditara Hailing the vote as a "historic reform", Valditara said the law would protect children from what he called "gender propaganda" and restore to parents their constitutional right to guide their children's upbringing. He insisted that several claims made by critics were misconceived: biological sex education would continue within science curricula at all school levels, and for the first time the government was making education in respect, relationships and empathy a permanent, compulsory element across all school years. He added that lessons on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases would be introduced into the middle school curriculum - something not previously required under the national guidelines for primary and lower secondary education - and would also be incorporated into science courses at high school level. Paola Frassinetti, under-secretary at the education ministry, described the legislation as an important step towards transparency and genuine collaboration between schools and families. Family associations broadly welcomed the outcome. Antonio Affinita, director general of the parents' movement Moige, said the vote recognised a principle the Italian constitution had always enshrined: that parents are the primary educators of their children. The pro-family organisation Pro Vita & Famiglia called it a "historic victory". Step backwards Opposition parties were scathing. Senator Simona Malpezzi of the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) described the law as undermining the autonomy of schools, accusing the government of telling parents to distrust their children's teachers. Senator Barbara Floridia of the Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) said the measure "set a dangerous precedent" and amounted to a "step backwards for the country", calling it a "manifesto of fear of freedom and diversity". The opposition's broader argument is that the law undermines efforts to combat rape, gender-based violence and femicide by erecting barriers to the kind of consent education that might help young people develop healthier attitudes towards relationships. The children's charity Save the Children also raised concerns. Its director of institutional relations, Giorgia D'Errico, warned that the law risked weakening the educational partnership between schools and families while deepening existing inequalities in access to education. The organisation's own research had found that fewer than half of Italian adolescents - around 47 per cent - had received any form of sex and relationship education at school. Italy is already one of the few EU member states without compulsory sex education, which had remained banned in primary and pre-schools even before the new legislation. Critics argue the law takes that gap considerably further, making it difficult to guarantee consistent provision even at secondary level. Photo credit: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com

Italy's senate on Thursday gave final approval to a law requiring schools to obtain written parental consent before delivering any sex or relationship education to pupils, in a vote that passed with 78 votes in favour and 38 against. The legislation, known as the Valditara Bill after education minister Giuseppe Valditara, had previously . Under the new law, secondary schools - both middle schools (scuole medie, covering pupils aged 11 to 14) and high schools - must secure informed written consent from parents, or from students themselves if they are over 18, before proceeding with any activities or projects relating to sexuality or emotional relationships. In primary and nursery schools, such content is banned outright. Hailing the vote as a "historic reform", Valditara said the law would protect children from what he called "gender propaganda" and restore to parents their constitutional right to guide their children's upbringing. He insisted that several claims made by critics were misconceived: biological sex education would continue within science curricula at all school levels, and for the first time the government was making education in respect, relationships and empathy a permanent, compulsory element across all school years. He added that lessons on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases would be introduced into the middle school curriculum - something not previously required under the national guidelines for primary and lower secondary education - and would also be incorporated into science courses at high school level. Paola Frassinetti, under-secretary at the education ministry, described the legislation as an important step towards transparency and genuine collaboration between schools and families. Family associations broadly welcomed the outcome. Antonio Affinita, director general of the parents' movement Moige, said the vote recognised a principle the Italian constitution had always enshrined: that parents are the primary educators of their children. The pro-family organisation Pro Vita & Famiglia called it a "historic victory". Opposition parties were scathing. Senator Simona Malpezzi of the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) described the law as undermining the autonomy of schools, accusing the government of telling parents to distrust their children's teachers. Senator Barbara Floridia of the Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) said the measure "set a dangerous precedent" and amounted to a "step backwards for the country", calling it a "manifesto of fear of freedom and diversity". The opposition's broader argument is that the law undermines efforts to combat rape, gender-based violence and femicide by erecting barriers to the kind of consent education that might help young people develop healthier attitudes towards relationships. The children's charity Save the Children also raised concerns. Its director of institutional relations, Giorgia D'Errico, warned that the law risked weakening the educational partnership between schools and families while deepening existing inequalities in access to education. The organisation's own research had found that fewer than half of Italian adolescents - around 47 per cent - had received any form of sex and relationship education at school. Italy is already one of the few EU member states without compulsory sex education, which had remained banned in primary and pre-schools even before the new legislation. Critics argue the law takes that gap considerably further, making it difficult to guarantee consistent provision even at secondary level. Photo credit: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com