Why should we educate on gender equality, sexuality, and affectivity?

We firmly believe that education for gender equality and equity, understood as the concepts highlighting that women and men, girls and boys and all other genders with different needs and power should have equal conditions, treatment and opportunities for realizing their full potential, human rights and dignity and that differences should be identified and addressed in a manner that rectifies the imbalances.

The stereotyped norms and behaviours that are the cause of any kind of gender-based violence are always influenced by rigid social structures that have always been imposed in society and that determine the emotional and sexual sphere, both in young and adult people.

For this reason, we believe that more and more spaces should be created to reflect on issues such as affectivity and sexuality, gender roles and stereotypes, and the different types of violence that result from them.

At school, for example: this is where people begin to form their identity and personality, and where they become tolerant, responsible, self-confident people, without limits or constraints. It is necessary to start at school to reverse the course and deconstruct these stereotypes, roles, and gender norms, which even during adolescence ‘must’ be adopted to be accepted in the society in which they live.

But also in other contexts by:

• strengthening the competencies of support services, we improve the lives of people who have suffered different types of violence;
• networking at local, national, and international level, we ensure that knowledge and good practices on prevention, awareness-raising and support are shared and replicated;
• developing policy recommendations, we support gender equality in different areas and promote changes at political level.

We believe that it is only through knowledge, dialogue, and experimentation that we can raise awareness on these issues and create real change in society, aimed at combating inequalities, discrimination, and gender-based violence.

What do we do?

Through prevention, information, awareness-raising, and support, CESIE works closely with the school world and with professionals to address these issues and support change.