00:00My parents never talked about it.
00:03It's taboo.
00:05Sex education in schools.
00:07Should it be taught?
00:08Who should it be for?
00:10And what should it look like?
00:11In Italy, those questions are sparking heated debate.
00:15But at this school, they're tackling the issue head on.
00:19You're being intimate with your boyfriend,
00:21and he keeps pushing for sex.
00:24When you refuse, he says you don't love him enough.
00:27He's done everything for you, but you won't return his love.
00:32Which card would you give him?
00:40We're in Palermo, the capital of Sicily,
00:43an island off the southern tip of Italy.
00:46At this vocational school, students openly discuss
00:49sex, emotions, and self-determination,
00:52topics that are still taboo in many classrooms across the country.
00:57He can't force me to do something.
00:59If I say no or if I'm tired, you can't pressure me,
01:03just because you think I'm supposed to satisfy you somehow.
01:10Physical or emotional violence, it's all violence,
01:13and can never be justified.
01:16Emilia Assini and Gea Di Bella run these workshops
01:19at the school's request.
01:20Even in Palermo, programs like this are the exception,
01:24rather than the rule.
01:27We try to address sexuality in a broad way,
01:30going beyond biology to include psychological, emotional,
01:34and social perspectives.
01:38A big part of our work focuses on what it means to grow up being socialized as a woman,
01:44or a man, and the power dynamics between genders.
01:50But programs like these are under attack.
01:53Sex education is not mandatory, and there are no plans to change that.
01:58A new law from the country's right-wing government would ban such programs entirely for children under 14.
02:06For older students, written parental consent would be required.
02:11In Parliament, Italy's education minister defended the proposed law.
02:19It's been claimed that this bill bans sex education in schools.
02:25Others alleged that we are obstructing education about empathy.
02:31None of that is true.
02:34For the first time, we are setting a clear objective,
02:38teaching respect for women and, more broadly, interpersonal and emotional empathy.
02:49While lawmakers debate the issue in Rome,
02:52young people are fighting for the right to sex education.
02:55People like Mattia, he's from Palermo,
02:58and is part of a student initiative called Piaceri di Conoscerci,
03:02or Nice to Meet Us.
03:04The group is founded by students in eight local schools.
03:08They gathered 6,000 signatures and presented them to the mayor.
03:13Their demand?
03:14Sex education in all city schools, for students of all ages.
03:20Nice to meet us.
03:23We asked for sex and relationship education to become part of the regular curriculum.
03:29Instead, the city proposed seminars, just four hours a year.
03:34Two plus two for middle schools, and two plus two plus two for high schools.
03:39Six hours total, not even a full school day per year, for an entire school.
03:46And it wasn't even clear if that meant one class or all of them.
03:52The city officials say they'll continue discussions with the student initiative,
03:56to see whether a better solution can be found.
04:02Back at the school, the students are discussing their own experiences.
04:10Raise your hand if someone's ever made comments about your body in the street,
04:14or catcalled you.
04:20Okay, all of you.
04:22If you ask men the same question, the answer is very different.
04:28School is the only place I get sex education.
04:31I've never talked to my parents about it.
04:34They wouldn't mind, but I haven't found the right moment.
04:39Many parents can't imagine talking about these things with their children.
04:44And then situations happen that could have been avoided if they'd been discussed at home.
04:50So it's important to talk about sex education in school, even during regular lessons.
04:59The new law wouldn't make it any easier to talk about sexuality in schools.
05:07Even if sex education were banned tomorrow morning,
05:10if I held sessions in the afternoon, students would still come.
05:14Just because you stop talking about something doesn't mean it stops existing.
05:18There's no other space where you can talk about these things.
05:21So for now, at this vocational school in Palermo, the workshops will continue.
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