Description
The project will be implemented at the national and regional level and it will monitor the implementation of the Family Planning Law and the related secondary legislation which introduces the “human sexual life" subject into Polish school. The project will particularly focus on the availability and quality of “family life education" classes, the quality of education program and resources and the qualifications of teachers. Federation for Women and Family Planning will monitor selected parts of the relevant legislation and institutions which are responsible for implementation. Students' experience and opinions will be an important aspect of examining the quality and availability of this education provision. As a result of this monitoring exercise, they will develop in-depth understanding of the state of play of sex education and the root causes of the existing challenges. This will be the input into a national advocacy effort for an improved enforcement of the right of young people to thorough sex education.
Summary of project results
"The experiences of the Federation and the Sexual Educators Group Ponton in advisory services on sexual and reproductive health show that the youth in Poland have poor knowledge in the field of sexual education. Lessons are not conducted professionally, schools fail to offer reliable knowledge to teenagers, which results in problems such as unplanned pregnancies and increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. The decision-makers ignore the problem. The aim of the project was to control the duties of the state to guarantee a reliable sexual education for youth, and to make the Ministry of National Education realise the need to properly implement the Act on Family Planning of 1993. The Federation gathered knowledge on organisation of lessons, learned the experiences of school students and the opinions from school heads. The project broadened the knowledge on how the subject of family education is implemented in schools in terms of its quality and legal aspects. The results obtained and recommendations were published in the report ""Implementation of lessons in family education from the point of view of school students and heads of schools"". Cooperation was started with the Ministry of National Education and the Government Plenipotentiary for equal treatment. The project consisted in monitoring the implementation of the Act on family planning and ministerial regulations introducing lessons on sexual life in schools, the availability and quality of the lessons, reviewing the content of educational programs. As a result of the monitoring, an analysis of the content of handbooks for the lessons was prepared. Also legal analysis was prepared to identify problems connected with the lessons. A survey was also led on the state of sexual education in three voivodeships: Mazowieckie, Wielkopolskie and Lubuskie, and its results were presented in widely promoted report mentioned above. The project benefited school students and heads, education inspectorates, the Ministry of National Education."
Summary of bilateral results