Wednesday 16 November 2022 07:26 PM Parents accuse the Welsh Government of 'totalitarianism' in High Court fight trends now
The Welsh Government has been accused by 'totalitarianism' by parents after they underwent a two-day battle in High Court to excuse their children from gender identity and sex education lessons.
The new curriculum launched in Wales in September and seeks to 'embed sex and gender themes into day-to-day classes' with no opt out for parents.
Public Child Protection Wales brought the legal challenge against the curriculum before Mrs Justice Steyn at the Civil Justice Centre in Cardiff after they launched a judicial review in May.
The group are seeking to overturn the new curriculum which they have said is inappropriate for primary age children.
They have said that children as young as three will be taught about 'sensitive and arguably inappropriate topics' including gender ideology and said that the sex education lessons amount to 'indoctrination' by the government.
But lawyers for the Labour-run government told the High Court that the curriculum should be taught in school so children as young as three can learn 'empathy' with different people. And they have said that the group's claims were 'incorrect' and lessons would be age-appropriate.
Up to 300 protesters from Public Child Protection, who say the new curriculum is inappropriate for primary age children, yesterday mounted a demonstration, pictured, against the new Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) code outside the High Court hearing
Up to 300 protesters from Public Child Protection, who say the new curriculum is inappropriate for primary age children, yesterday mounted a demonstration against the new Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) code outside the High Court hearing.
One banner held at the protest said: 'Protect kids from woke agenda - allow sex education parental opt-out.'
A mother who asked not to be named, said: 'They have given no details of what the lessons entail only that sex and gender issues will be part of everyday school lessons.
'As parents we have rights to know what our children are being taught and we should be allowed to say 'no' if we don't think it is appropriate.
'We have been told the lessons will be 'developmental appropriate' but we don't know is the judge of that. One teacher might think teaching three-year-olds about S&M is appropriate and we can't stop them.'
One banner held at the protest, pictured, said: 'Protect kids from woke agenda - allow sex education parental opt-out'
But Jonathan Moffett KC, representing the Welsh Government, said transgender themes were important to give children a 'pluralistic' world view.
He said: 'This is to equip children for what they will encounter in life.
'In real life society there are people who identify as a gender that is different from their biological sex. In real life there are people who self-identify as the TQ+ element of LGBTQ+.
'These people exist, that is not controverted by the claimants and it cannot be - it is an incontrovertible fact. Teaching children that these people exist and they should be tolerant and respectful of them is not teaching them controversial psycho-sexual theories.
'Perhaps in school, perhaps
