Academics training teachers for sex education curriculum have had threats of violence, university says

In the now viral video, the teacher describes how attendees have been shown graphic imagery, including a 'sex map' and a female cartoon masturbating, as part of training for the new SPHE course.

Academics behind the new sex education curriculum have been subjected to targeted attacks, including "unacceptable" threats of violence and misogynistic and homophobic slurs because of a misrepresentation of teacher training for it.

Dublin City University (DCU) has hit out at what it describes as a “concerted disinformation campaign” about its Social, Personal and Health Education/Relationships and Sexuality Education (SPHE/RSE) course for teachers, its content and what will be taught to children.

The DCU Institute of Education runs the graduate diploma for teachers in SPHE/RSE, which is funded by the Department of Education. There have been claims the new course will expose young people to inappropriate sexual materials as part of lessons.

A video featuring a teacher who attended the DCU course, who claimed the new curriculum expected teachers to expose students to graphic, sexually explicit materials in the classroom has now been viewed more than 435,000 times on YouTube.

In a statement, the university said it stood firmly over the content of the course and “fully behind the academic staff who deliver it".

It is currently exploring all legal recourse in relation to these matters.

“In recent weeks, on the back of a video that completely misrepresented the course and the materials on it, there has been a concerted disinformation campaign about the SPHE/RSE course, its content and what will be taught to children,” a spokesman said.

“This campaign purposefully conflates what is taught to teachers on the graduate diploma programme so that they have a broader knowledge of the SPHE/RSE area, and what is actually taught to secondary students in accordance with the national curriculum.

It has led to targeted attacks on the academic staff who teach the course, with unacceptable threats of violence, misogynistic and homophobic slurs, and libellous remarks being made on social media, in comment sections on articles about the course and over email.

In the now viral video, the teacher describes how attendees have been shown graphic imagery, including a "sex map" and a female cartoon masturbating, as part of training for the new SPHE course.

In its wake, Education Minister Norma Foley faced opposition from party colleague, Minister for State Seán Fleming, who called for the material to be removed.

However, DCU said university materials used on the graduate diploma are provided only to the teachers as adults in the context of their broader education on this programme.

“It is made clear by DCU that no graphic or explicit material is intended for use by teachers in a secondary school classroom setting. Any claims that say otherwise are completely false”, the spokesman added.

The DCU course is designed for second-level teachers.

“It is to help them teach the new SPHE/RSE curriculum and empower them to help children and young people through what can be an incredibly challenging time of their lives.”