Debate contribution: Relationships and Sexuality Education

Debate contribution by Mr Eóin Tennyson on 22 April 2024.

MLA

Mr Eóin Tennyson

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

22 April 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Relationships and Sexuality Education

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4484865

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I had not intended to speak on this motion, but, given that I have proven popular amongst DUP Members, I thought that it would be remiss of me not to respond. I want to address a number of the points that have been raised in the debate, but, in the first instance, I want to speak about some personal experience. I always try to avoid speaking about personal experience, but I think that it might add something for some Members in the Chamber. I was at school not that long ago and more recently than most Members in this place. I have two poignant memories of relationships and sexuality education in school — it was so rare that I can actually remember those occasions. On the first occasion, a religious facilitator was brought into the school to preach abstinence, to tell us that sex was for marriage and that that was our only choice. As a young LGBT person at school who, at that stage, could not get married, I knew that that facilitator was not speaking to me, that I was invisible and that that lesson and that education were not for me. They did not deal with my kind there. That is not an experience that any young person should have in 2024 in Northern Ireland. Yet, it remains a reality for too many of our young people. I am proud to be a member of a party that comes to the Chamber, against all the bile and rhetoric from others, to advocate change. On the second occasion, the facilitator who came into the school, in fairness, tried to administer some level of fact-based RSE. There was one — one — fleeting reference to same-sex couples, which was met with laughter from teachers and pupils in the school. Can you imagine how it feels to be a young person struggling with internalised homophobia, scared to tell your parents, relatives and friends who you are, only to have your sexuality laughed at in a public forum? That is not good enough, Members, and it is incumbent on all of us in the Chamber to change it. A number of assertions have been made, and I have taken note of a few of them. I would say, first, that my experience was indoctrination. It was not education. I was not given all the information that I needed to be able to make an informed choice in line with my ethical values. Someone else's ethical values were imposed on me. That continues today with RSE in schools being outsourced to religious organisations. If the science curriculum was outsourced and a religious organisation refused to teach the theory of evolution, we would not stand for it, so why do we accept an approach to RSE in some of our schools that is not evidence-based? That is not good enough. We heard a lecture from Mr Brooks about the imposition of ethical values. I take great exception to that, given that the DUP, of all parties, is the party that, for too many years, has inserted itself into the lives of women — their bodily autonomy — and the lives of LGBT people — their right to marry. The DUP is in no position to lecture those of us on these Benches about the imposition of values or about human rights or equality. There was talk about evidence. I will take my evidence not from the DUP, which does not have a good record on that either, but from the NSPCC, the Children's Law Centre and the Children's Commissioner, which have safeguarding at their heart and are experts in their field. Again, I make no apologies for that. We have heard about the balance of parental rights and children's rights and about the family unit. I agree that there is a balance to be struck. It is, however, also true, tragically, that the family unit is one of the most common places for sexual abuse to happen. We have a responsibility to those children to ensure that they are empowered to protect themselves, to spot the signs of abuse and to go to a trusted adult and report it. If we cannot do that, we are failing those children. I ask Members to think on that. I want to return to my comments about a dog whistle to the far right. I think that we heard a very strong dog whistle to the far right from Mr Buckley here today. I therefore stand by my remarks —.

I stand by my remarks because —.

No, it is not parents. I want to be clear about this.

I want to be clear about this.

I believe that the DUP has engaged in a dog whistle to the far right. There are many parents out there with legitimate concerns and questions, which I believe can be assuaged and addressed, but, instead, the DUP chooses to capitalise on that fear, to spread misinformation and to contribute nothing more to this debate than fear, prejudice and hate.

I think that that is shameful.

846 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:01 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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