Families are flabbergasted by a so-called ‘sociodemographic’ questionnaire asking 5th year pupils to reveal their sexual preferences.
In some cases, these children were as young as 9 – though the majority were 10.
Beyond asking them if they were attracted “to men, women or both”, the inquiry asked the children whether they had dated in the past, or whether they were dating now.
It was apparently circulated among pupils at Porto’s Escola Francisco Torrinha as part of a collaborative project with an outside organisation, writes Correio da Manhã.
Parents only became aware of it when a copy of the questionnaire was uploaded online.
Says CM, several parents associations have registered their “complete disagreement” with the questions – particularly as no parents were consulted previously.
Said one mother: “We should have been informed. I have no taboos but for the age the children are, parents need to be informed”.
Another labelled the initiative: “Absolutely stupid and incorrect” and totally wrong for the age range in question.
And the issue seems set to gain traction as CM reports ‘other schools’ have been circulating identical questionnaires, in the name of gender equality.
So far, the Ministry of Education has said it is “seeking clarification”, while another media source has quoted a child psychiatrist denouncing the exercise is “an attack on children’s intimacy”.
The intention may be good, but it has come out all wrong, Ana Vasconcelos told Diário de Notícias, while sexologist Júlio Machado remarks that he “cannot see the point” of asking a nine-year-old what gender he or she is attracted to.
This isn’t the first case of a schoolroom questionnaire creating friction. Earlier this academic year parents in Lisbon succeeded in axing an inquiry asking pupils about their ethnic backgrounds.
Alternatives listed (for children to tick or not) were Portuguese, Gypsy, Brazilian, Chinese, Asian or Eastern European.
The study prompted complaints to the High Commissioner for Migrations, the Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination and the secretary of state for citizenship and equality.
