‘All gays molest children’: Ireland removes ‘homophobic’ teaching material – WION
Ireland’s Department of Education removed “homophobic” online teaching material that allowed secondary school pupils to debate a range of assertions, including whether “all gays molest children.”
Until recently, the content was included in the department’s online teaching tools for junior cycle social, personal, and health education (SPHE) lessons.
Students are directed in the instruction booklet to read through many statements and describe whether they agree or disagree with them.
The statements said; “all gays are HIV positive”, “boys who don’t play sports are gay”, “you can change from being a homosexual”, “girls who don’t wear make-up are lesbians”, and “homosexuals shouldn’t be allowed to marry”.
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The content was created in the late 1990s and was available in official online teaching materials until four months ago.
A school guidance counsellor expressed concerns about the homophobic brochure earlier this year, alerting Fine Gael MP Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
The National LGBT Foundation in Ireland branded the training materials as “extremely insulting,” and said it was “disturbing” that they were ever considered suitable.
“Young LGBT+ people – indeed all students – deserve a fact based, inclusive RSE – not harmful and offensive ‘debates’ about their innate identities. Disturbing that such material ever considered appropriate,” the group said on Twitter.
(With inputs from agencies)