by Tony Rucinski, Coalition for Marriage
You can’t have missed the Prime Minister talking about a Netflix fictional drama, Adolescence, which he wants all secondary school children in the UK to watch. Joining me to examine the serious implications of this concerning policy is Professor David Paton, an industrial economist from the University of Nottingham – an actual expert rather than a fictional TV character.
Professor Paton is known for his rigorous analysis of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) policies and their unintended consequences. Hear his concerning assessment of the PM’s actions in our 12-minute interview here.
Professor Paton strongly criticises the Government’s reliance on this fictional drama as a basis for educational policy, particularly given that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly and incorrectly referred to it as a “documentary”. He underlines the clear inappropriateness of exposing pupils as young as eleven to a 15-rated drama depicting graphic violence and the normalisation of sexual activity among underage 13-year-olds. Alarmingly, even the psychologist character in the series does not challenge the portrayal of ‘normal’ sexual activity among minors, significantly undermining crucial discussions about the legal age of consent.
Read also: Why are we still talking about Adolescence? by Simon Evans, spiked