Forum: European Committee of Social Rights
INTERIGHTS' role: Co-applicant
Keywords: Health, education, children, private life
In October 2007, INTERIGHTS, in partnership with the Center for Reproductive Rights and Centre for Education,
Counselling and Research (CESI), submitted the complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) against Croatia for its sponsorship of and efforts to expand a discriminatory and non-science based programme which promotes abstinence at the expense of other viable alternatives such as contraception. The groups argue that, in so doing, Croatia is endangering the health and lives of its young people through misleading and inadequate sex education and therefore, is in breach of its obligations under a major international human rights treaty, the European Social Charter.
Under the European Social Charter, signatory states have agreed to protect the social and economic rights of their citizens, including providing young people with accurate and comprehensive sex education. The eCsr is responsible for considering complaints of non-compliance with the charter. For a decade though, Croatia has sponsored the extra-curricula programme Teen STAR and is now seeking to implement the nearly identical programme GROZD. Both programmes’ curriculum emphasises abstinence-only approaches; discourages the use of contraceptives, including condoms; disparages any relationship outside of the traditional family model, such as analogising gay relationships to socially “deviant” phenomena; and reinforces gender stereotypes, including the notion that stay-at-home mothers make for better families. Despite being out of step with a range of international standards and best practice, the biased programme is taught in almost thirty countries around the world.
INTERIGHTS Contact: Iain Byrne, Senior Lawyer, Economic and Social Rights Programme
Related Links
Centre for Reproductive Rights, United States
Centre for Education, Counselling and Research (CESI), Croatia
Admissibility Decision of the European Committee of Social Rights [1 April 2008]
