It’s not all about you Dorries

‘Say no to Dorries’ is not just about Dorries. On January 20^th Nadine Dorries MP’s Abstinence Education for Girls bill is scheduled to be read in Parliament. A demonstration has been organised, and will be supported by organisations including P4SRE and some more famous ones like the British Humanist Association and others. I have written here about what is wrong with Dorries’ bill.

It is possible that the bill will not be read due to practical scheduling issues. Many of us will breathe a sigh of relief if this ill-thought out bill does not make it. Dorries will no doubt feel a mixture of disappointment that her moment in the limelight is lost, and simultaneously relief that she doesn’t have to stand up and justify such an ill-thought out bill.

It is likely that if she were to propose a bill again she would not make the mistake of making it about girls only, as this has been the cause of condemnation, derision and downright bewilderment. How can anything to do with sex be an issue for just girls?

It is likely that she would rethink using the word abstinence, which carries with it so many negative connotations from the United States where vast investment in abstinence education has failed to make a dent in their teenage pregnancy or STI rates.

She would probably not justify the bill by erroneously claiming that 7 year olds are putting condoms on bananas in our classrooms.

She surely would not repeat her claim that teaching girls to say ‘no’ to sex would reduce abuse.

Maybe the bill will be read, and if so I hope it will fail, but either way we should not be complacent and nor should we direct all our campaigning zeal at Nadine Dorries, who after all seems to thrive on (even negative) publicity –  the phrase ‘infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it infamy’  could have been invented for her. Much as people might like to characterise Dorries as a random loon, she is not aone. This really is likely to be just the beginning as an increasingly extreme, socially conservative homophobic, anti-contraception, anti-abortion anti sex education movement tries to dominate the discourse about what our children should be learning about in schools.

P4SRE was founded to provide an alternative voice to these groups, who often claim to speak for  parents, but are not representative at all. We are here to say that young people need evidence-based comprehensive sex education that will prepare them for real life. We are here to oppose those people who would limit our children’s access to information. That’s why P4SRE is opposing Dorries’ bill, but saying ‘it’s not all about you Dorries’