The Dark Side of a Once Respected Organization: WHO’s Guidelines on Sex Education in Europe Pose a Genuine Threat to Children

Many people are increasingly mistrustful of local or national government over abuses regarding free speech, excessive spending, corruption, or other misdeeds, and may naturally be even more skeptical of global agencies seeking to influence or control multiple nations, especially when those agencies seem to be aligned with forces or nations that oppose the principles of freedom enshrined in the US Constitution. But how can any of us maintain any trust in the once-respected World Health Organization in light of what they are pushing regarding sex education for our children? Their new standards seem to undermine parent-child relationship and urge adult educators to indoctrinate children in their earliest years (0 to 4) with teachings about the childhood masturbation, gender identity, and sexual rights that may be completely counter to the desires of marginalized parents.

The WHO Collaborating Centre for Sexual and Reproductive Health on their page, “Standards for Sexuality Education,” has links to their new PDF document in multiple languages on sex education guidelines for Europe. The link to the English PDF is at https://www.bzga-whocc.de/fileadmin/user_upload/BZgA_Standards_English.pdf.

Here is some explanation from “Standards for Sexuality Education“:

The framework Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe (Standards) presents the concept for holistic sexuality education and includes information on the themes relevant for children and adolescents in the various age groups.

The Standards provide practical guidance for preparing proper curricula. They can also be used to support arguments for introducing holistic sexuality education in the European countries of the WHO Region.

Target groups: political stakeholders, healthcare authorities, and professionals working in the fields of education and healthcare.

Parents are not listed among the target groups, possibly because most parents would be shocked to see what the elites behind this document think is appropriate for young children.  While may be some good ideas in these standards, there are dangerous elements that may be harmful for children. Let’s look at the “matrix” provided for the youngest age group, zero to four years.  The portion of the “matrix” on sexuality for ages zero to four years comes from page 40 of the English PDF document, “Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe“:

I’ll also show three more sections from pages 40-41, again for the very youngest group of children:


Here is a table with three of these sections in case the image is hard to read (emphasis mine):

0-4 [Years]

Information
Give information about

Skills
Enable children to

Attitudes
Help children to develop

Sexuality
  • enjoyment and pleasure when touching one’s own body, early childhood masturbation
  • discovery of own body and own genitals
  • the fact that enjoyment of physical closeness is a normal part of everyone’s life
  • tenderness and physical closeness as an expression of love and affection
  • gain an awareness of gender identity
  • talk about (un)pleasurable feelings in one’s own body
  • express own needs, wishes and boundaries, for example in the context of “playing doctor”
  • a positive attitude towards one’s body with all its functions = positive body-image
  • respect for others
  • curiosity regarding own and others’ bodies
Sexuality, health and well-being
  • good and bad experiences of your body/what feels good? (listen to your body)
  • if the experience/feeling is not good, you do not always have to comply
  • trust their instincts
  • apply the three-step model (say no, go away, talk to somebody you trust)
  • achieve feelings of well-being
  • an appreciation of their body
  • the awareness that it is ok to ask for help
Sexuality and rights
  • the right to be safe and protected
  • the responsibility of adults for the safety of children
  • the right to ask questions about sexuality
  • the right to explore gender identities
  • the right to explore nakedness and the body, to be curious
  • say “yes” and “no”
  • develop communication skills
  • express needs and wishes
  • differentiate between “good” and “bad” secrets
  • an awareness of their rights which leads to self-confidence
  • the attitude “My body belongs to me”
  • the feeling that they can make their own decisions

 

Notice how many times parents are mentioned in these guidelines. Noticed how many times educators are encouraged to tell children to turn to their parents for guidance and help.

So the WHO wants various strangers in schools and perhaps other institutions talking to toddlers about masturbation? And their “right” to explore various gender identities? Do we want random adults to teach our kids that the standard for what is good or bad is what feels good? That’s how you tell right from wrong and decide when to say yes or no? Do we want these adults telling little kids that “physical closeness” from someone else (say, a coach, teacher, or other authority figure) is just a healthy expression of love and affection? And that they “do not always have to comply” IF it doesn’t feel good?

When I quoted a couple of these items to an alert mother I trust, her immediate response was, “They’re groomers!” She was outraged. And that’s when it hit me: these guidelines are hard to fathom as just accidental foolishness from over-educated elites who don’t understand the threats our children face, which was how I was tempted to view it initially. Rather, the guidelines make more sense if they are coming from people who are disconnected from the challenges and joys of family life and parenthood, who think the State needs to take over the role of parents to transform and reprogram children, unaware of the harm to children that such an approach can bring. It’s also possible some of the people behind this effort may sense some kind of benefit from corrupting children, whether they are groomers, profiteers, Marxist radicals seeking to destroy religion and middle-class opposition, or just bitter sociopaths. These are not the things that normal healthy people with a respect for the institution of the family would push onto children. Something is very wrong here.

One of the things that is wrong is downplaying the role of parents, if not overriding the duty of parents to shape and guide their children. On page 40, the document recognizes the “informal role” of parents in sex education and also note their general inability in Europe to opt out of sex education for their kids, which is fine for parents, we are told, because they aren’t comfortable doing it themselves. The existence of parents is acknowledged in several places, mostly to indicate their need to be supportive, but the “matrix” of guidelines for various age groups essentially ignores their fundamental role and rights in sex education. It’s obvious that this document is all about other adults, all tools of the State, shaping the views and behavior of children in all aspects of sexuality from their earliest days into adulthood. Of course, this is already happening in many parts of the world and in the US. Do parents understand that adequately? Do they understand what can go wrong?

One of the key tools for actual groomers and pedophiles is to encourage children to keep secrets from their parents and to trust other adults rather than mom and dad. Here we have guidelines that totally leave parents out and will obviously go against the wishes of many parents. The instructors are being told to help kids know that there are “good secrets” that they can have with respect to sexuality — no need to tell parents about any of this, right? They are told to turn to “somebody” that they trust when they have questions or concerns, say some non-parental authority figure, perhaps? After all, it’s their body and they can make their own decisions at ages 3 or 4 (like deciding if one is a girl or boy — again, no recognition of parents having any role in such vital decisions). They tell children that masturbation and physical closeness with others (adults other than parents?) is normal and pleasurable and that the standard to follow is not any form of absolute morality, rules from parents, or principles from one’s faith, but whether something feels good or not. But no need to worry about groomers, for the kids will also be told that if something doesn’t feel good, they don’t always have to comply. Not always! So there’s that safety valve.

Parents are right to wonder what a molester or groomer could do with these guidelines. But even if the schools only hire moral, decent teachers and coaches, if they follow these guidelines, great harm can still done through what is taught and how it’s taught. Having kids at age three or four learn about masturbation is sick. Having them get used to talking to random adults other than mom or dad about sexuality is wrong. The guidelines read like a handbook for groomers. Is there a more charitable but accurate way to put it?

No, I am not saying anything about any alleged conspiracies of pedophiles, but there is such a thing as pedophiles, and there is such a thing as danger to children, and when what is being taught to children undermines the protective principles that wise parents want to teach, then something very ugly is taking place. I am also not saying that any of the motivation for the WHO to support the push to have young children question their gender has anything to do with powerful companies that make huge profits by convincing young people that they need drugs or surgery for the lengthy and expensive process of transitioning, though that is probably something worth exploring. I don’t know the motives behind the guidelines — that may be the field of wild conspiracy theorists — but I can see what the guidelines are and can recognize that there is great evil and danger in what they are doing. No conspiracy theories about vile secret societies are needed. The public actions of this vile public organization are enough for all of us to object.

Perhaps some corruption and greed or perversion is behind these guidelines and some of the movements that all seem aligned along a common deviant direction. Perhaps we need to explore the funding of the WHO and who influences it. But just because, say, a rich billionaire with some ties to, say, Jeffrey Epstein or other perverts could theoretically be a WHO influencer and major funder absolutely does not mean that some secret shenanigans were at play. Nor does the involvement of people associated with the abortion industry such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), who provided some of the sexual “rights” alluded to in the document, mean that the interests of that industry are being served. But there may be fruitful data somewhere to help us understand why such troubling agendas are being pushed from so many angles.

Many parents in schools across the country have become alarmed at the content their children are being exposed to, whether it’s from once-trusted entertainment sources, “family friendly” activities with gyrating drag queens, classroom and media indoctrination regarding sexuality, encouragement for little kids to identify as the opposite gender without letting parents know, and teaching such blatantly unscientific doctrines as “doctors just guess your gender at birth.” It seems like many aspects of our society, from the schools to movie makers to the US government are suddenly supporting radical doctrines on sexuality that can have harmful effects on young people. Now we see WHO coming out to push nations to accelerate the efforts to change the mindset of children in ways that will make parents less influential in the crucial area of preparing children for their roles in life. For those villains who genuinely delight in corrupting children, these standards may play into their desires or lusts. There is genuine cause for concern.

But wait — this document is for Europe. This kind of thing, woke sexual ideology being pushed on kids without the ability for parents to opt out, that isn’t about to happen in the US, right? Tell that to the parents of, for example, Montgomery County, Maryland, where Muslim and Christian parents, including Latter-day Saints, found that the school district rescinded the right to opt out when too many parents objected to the pro-LGBTQ ideology was being pushed on very young children. A broad coalition of parents sued, claiming that their freedom of religion and parental rights were being threatened, but a Federal judge didn’t see any problem and upheld the power of the school district to trample parental rights. It’s a telling example of the use of the power of the State to compel objectionable ideology being imposed on children against the wishes of patents. It’s going to get worse if you remain silent and inattentive. Why has this become such a huge movement in the West? Is this just a random fluctuation in social norms, or is something deeper going on? That’s a topic for further research and study, but it’s not a healthy sign.

One step for today is to prepare your children for the indoctrination they will face. Make sure they understand the importance of families, the sanctity of life, the divine gift of sexuality that God has given us, and the sorrows and loss that sexual immorality brings. Give them the tools to resist the teachings of the world and to understand the importance of morality, of turning to parents rather than strangers to get answers about some of the most vital and sensitive issues in life. Talk to your children about the unscientific lies and distortions they will hear in years to come and give them knowledge and faith to resist. For those of you who share my faith as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, teach them frequently from the inspired principles in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

Being involved in your community can also make a difference. Speaking out, teaching, and sharing information can help.

Let’s not despair and do more to support that which is good and resist that which is evil. But wow, I never thought I’d see such vile material coming from the once-respected WHO. Who’s running the show over there?

By |2023-09-02T17:04:53-07:00September 2nd, 2023|Categories: Education, LDS, Relationships, Religion, Safety, Scams, Society, Surviving|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Coping with Suicidal Thoughts in Shanghai? Local English- and Chinese-Speaking Resources Can Help

Foreigners living in China can sometimes feel very isolated, which might make depression or other mental health challenges even worse. It’s important to know that if your or a loved one is struggling with suicidal thoughts or the trauma of someone else’s suicide, there are resources to help. One resource is located right here in Shanghai for English speakers: Lifeline Shanghai (China; English only), phone: (021) 62798990. If calling from outside China, use the country code of +86. For Chinese speakers, a resource is HopeLine: 4001619995 (Chinese speakers; 24/7 toll-free access within China).

According to the Lifeline Shanghai website (http://www.lifeline-shanghai.com/):

Lifeline Shanghai serves the English-speaking community with free, confidential, and anonymous emotional support via telephone 10AM to 10PM, 365 days a year. Our helpline offers an emotional support service that respects everyone’s right to be heard, understood, and cared for. Lifeline Shanghai helpline assistants are ready to listen and support, helping you to gain another perspective and connecting you with other support services as needed. Trained volunteers offer emotional support and assist you to clarify options and choices that are right for you. ​

This service is for those with a wide variety of difficulties, not just suicidal thoughts. Appears to be a valuable addition to Shanghai’s expat resources.

Since many of my friends and some of my readers in Shanghai are part of my LDS religious community (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints),  will also mention the excellent resources and list of external resources provided at the Church’s official page, “Suicide Prevention and Ministering Understanding and Healing from the Pain of Suicide” (https://www.lds.org/get-help/suicide/?lang=eng).

Although Shanghai is a prosperous and wonderful place, the problem of suicide is serious. Suicide rates are painfully high and is even a serious problem among children, perhaps due to the high pressure they face in school. See “Child suicides high in Shanghai” at the Christian Science Monitor (an old 2004 article). But suicide rates have been increasing in many parts of the world, including the US. Rates among young girls have actually tripled in recent years, a terrible development. See “Suicide rate triples among young girls: How can we stem the ‘silent epidemic’?,” also from the Christian Science Monitor.

If someone you know is showing signs of suicidal thoughts, take it seriously and lovingly work to support them and get help. Turning to outside expert help may be vitally important.

By |2018-08-17T17:53:13-07:00August 17th, 2018|Categories: Education, Health, Relationships, Religion, Safety, Shanghai, Society, Surviving|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Coping with Suicidal Thoughts in Shanghai? Local English- and Chinese-Speaking Resources Can Help

Jimmer, the “Lonely Master,” Might Be Doing Better and Doing More in China than the Deseret News Thinks

In the state of Utah, Salt Lake City’s Deseret News recently carried a touching but slightly downbeat article about China’s most popular basketball player, Jimmer Fredette, the impressive star who once stunned American crowds while playing for Brigham Young University. The article is “Lonely Master: From March Madness to Shanghai, the Unlikely Journey of Jimmer Fredette” by Jesse Hyde, published March 12, 2018. It has a lot of positive things to say about Jimmer and his accomplishments in China, but the general tone of the article is that Jimmer has missed out on his US dreams and thus has settled for something painfully inferior by coming to China, a grim and gritty place. I think there’s another perspective that ought to be considered.

Yes, the CBA is a far weaker competitive field than the NBA, and yes, it is disappointing that his NBA career did not give him the opportunities and satisfaction he sought. But don’t shed too many tears for Jimmer: things might not be as grim as the article implies.

The negative picture painted of China is quite disappointing. It’s a beautiful, exciting place where Jimmer is visible and influential to millions of people in ways that would not be possible in Europe or the US. I have met Jimmer and chatted a few times but don’t know him well nor can I speak for him. But what he is doing here is remarkable and has touched many people. His goodness, his honesty, his humility, and his high standards have also helped him touch people beyond what his athletic skills alone could do. For someone who possibly may have a sense of a mission higher than personal temporal success alone, coming to China brings many opportunities to achieve greater good, while also benefiting from a shorter season and excellent pay. Win/win from my perspective. His presence in China is part of something big, at least in the minds of many of his BYU-related fans here.

One of those fans, a Communist Party official, requested a chance to meet Jimmer last year. I was honored to be part of the little gathering where introductions were made. Jimmer with his characteristic class and humility brought gifts for the Chinese men who had come — framed photos of him as keepsakes. They were thrilled. Before Jimmer showed up, one man in the small group, a business leader in charge of the large complex where we rent some beautiful space to hold LDS services, chattered excitedly about Jimmer and quoted statistics from Jimmer’s games when he was at BYU and in China. Kid in a candy shop when Jimmer arrived. The official had gifts also, a terrific album of Chinese postage stamps. It was a beautiful souvenir for each of the foreigners at this event, which I’m proudly holding in the photo below.

With typical Jimmer class, Jimmer noticed a couple of keenly interested staff members from the little cafe where we met and invited them to get their photos taken also. It was a big day for all of us.

The Deseret News article makes numerous references to the pollution of China and Jimmer’s depressing situation here. The lead paragraph suggests he can’t see much of the skyline in Shanghai due to pollution (yes, we have pollution and some days visibility is noticeably reduced, but we have a lot of beautiful days too and air quality is improving). His apartment is “empty, lonely, a place he just crashes, so devoid of personal effects….” Regarding some reminders of his wife and daughter in his apartment: “Sometimes he needs those reminders. Like when he’s in Shanxi, a gritty industrial city where the gray dust blows from the cement factories and the grime is so thick he could scribble his name on the windows of parked cars.” And when he’s in Shanghai, in spite of the wealth and good food here, “even here, the air carries a slight whiff of chemicals you can almost taste. It’s hard not to want to be somewhere else.”

At this point in reading the article, I wondered if the staff of the Deseret News have ever been in Salt Lake City during the winter months, when the winter inversion traps air in the Salt Lake Valley and leads to painfully high levels of particles, nitrogen oxide, and other pollutants? Of if they have ever been near operations of the massive copper mine that scars the Valley? Or drove through Utah County in the days when the Geneva Steel works were cranking out massive whiffs of chemicals into the air? Or if they have lived near a paper mill in the United States? Shanghai air can get smoggy and is typically worse than most places in the US, but apart from an occasional painter using oil-based paint or a vehicle burning too much oil, as in almost any city, noticeable “whiffs of chemicals” are something I generally don’t experience here, unless those chemicals include the cinnamon aromas coming from Shanghai’s amazing Cinnaswirl bakery with world-class cinnamon rolls, or from the intoxicating smells of any of the hundreds of different cuisines available in Shanghai. OK, we do have stinky tofu, which does have a noticeable smell from its unusual natural chemistry — maybe that’s what the writer encountered here. But you can just take a few steps and be free of that.

China has pollution, certainly. There are spots that are gritty or grimy, just as in America. But it’s also one of the most beautiful and exciting places to live, especially Shanghai. For me personally, my respiratory health during my nearly seven years in Shanghai has been much better than it was in the US, where I would often get bronchitis or other issues in winter. Here it’s been great and I’ve almost never had to miss work due to illness. One or two days for an injury, but my health has been terrific. Part of that is from the food, which is high in fresh produce and generally quite healthy.

Come give China a chance. It’s one of the nicest places in the world, in my opinion. Anyplace is grim when you are away from family, but with such a short playing season, we hope that Jimmer can continue to thrive here and increasingly experience the beauty and wonders of China while here.

As a reminder of the surprising beauty and sometimes even miraculous nature of life in Shanghai, here are images of one of Shanghai’s secrets: its impressive angels rising from the ground to watch over this city. May Jimmer continue to be among them.

Finally, here’s a couple views of one of Jimmer’s favorite Shanghai spots.

Shanghai Disney Castle

The Shanghai Disney Castle

 

Cinderella’s Castle.

 

 

By |2018-03-17T07:24:37-07:00March 16th, 2018|Categories: Business, Career, China, Food, Health, Photography, Relationships, Religion, Restaurants, Safety, Shanghai, Society, Surviving|Comments Off on Jimmer, the “Lonely Master,” Might Be Doing Better and Doing More in China than the Deseret News Thinks

The Mysterious Angels of Lujiazui Park Watching Over Shanghai

In the midst of the tallest buildings in Shanghai, in the heart of mighty Pudong, lies an unexpectedly serene and generally overlooked park with one of Shanghai’s most intriguing mysteries. It is a beautiful but small park, offset against the towers on all sides. But within its borders lies the mystery of two unusual figures, rising and hovering over the city.

Angels? In a public park in a Communist nation? Yes, angels, with wings, cleverly sculpted so they appear to rise from the earth as trees, then transform into feminine angels watching over and nurturing the inhabitants below.

Angels are not only a symbol from Christianity or Judaism. They play a role in numerous cultures and beliefs, and even for a formally atheistic society, I believe the Party leaders here recognized that angels of this kind can be widely appreciated symbol of protection and favor of China, be it heavenly favor, cosmic, spiritual, or whatever. Yes, there can be a touch of mysticism and cosmic imagination here without subverting official policies. And for those of us who wish to see further dimensions to the art, I welcome the concept of heavenly favor of China. May real angels watch over this grand nation and its peoples!

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Lujiazui Park

A Protective Angel Watches Over Shanghai

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The Angels of Lujiazui Park

The Angels of Lujiazui Park

By |2017-10-24T07:13:12-07:00October 25th, 2014|Categories: Photography, Religion, Shanghai|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on The Mysterious Angels of Lujiazui Park Watching Over Shanghai
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