The signatories of this letter express their concern that, on 20 July, a petition was launched online, aiming to urge the government to remove LGBTIQA+ topics from the school curricula for minors. This occurred less than a week after Luxembourg Pride, which aims to give visibility to queer individuals.
We are surprised that a petition is considered admissible when it treats LGBTIQ+ identities as an ideology that parents should explain according to their own values and beliefs, or not at all, thereby creating exclusions. Petition No. 3198 assumes, to our understanding, that knowledge of queer identities could cause a psychopedagogical disruption. Furthermore, we wish to emphasise that the invisibilisation of these identities constitutes a clear exclusion of the LGBTIQA+ community, which we consider to be a queerphobic act. Consequently, in our view, the ethical principles that a petition must adhere to are not being respected. This petition violates human rights as well as the government's commitment in the coalition agreement towards inclusive education, by ignoring empirical and scientific realities.
The fact that the petition reached the necessary 4,500 signatures just three days after its publication, and that it has been commented on by far-right politicians, such as a member of the ADR, contributes once again to an anti-queer discourse that has worsened in recent years.
Such a ban would clearly constitute censorship and reminds us of legislative initiatives known in other countries, such as Russia or Hungary, as well as the 'Don’t say gay' law implemented in the US state of Florida.
The signatories of this letter wish to emphasise that, despite the long-standing requests from the queer community and allied organisations in Luxembourg, as well as a study from the University of Luxembourg entitledGender representations in school textbooks – A study in Luxembourg secondary schools2023 shows, LGBTIQA+ topics are still not consistently integrated into the school curriculum. The invisibilisation of queer identities in education means that children may never encounter these realities of life, adopt foreign prejudices, or, if they are affected themselves, cannot learn about their own identity in a protected space, leaving them feeling isolated. The petition violates the human rights of queer minors, their parents, and the queer community in Luxembourg as a whole. We emphasise that comprehensive education on emotional and sexual health is an important means of preventing violence, abuse, and discrimination. This type of prevention is clearly part of children's rights.
Of course, all forms of school content must always be age-appropriate for students. The invisibilisation of life identities, which are part of our society, serves neither our children nor our society, let alone queer children or children from rainbow families. The role of schools is to inform about our diverse, prejudice-free society.
1 Art.15(2) of the Constitution: "No one may be discriminated against on the basis of their situation or personal circumstances"
2 https://www.uni.lu/fr/news/les-representations-du-genre-dans-les-livres-scolaires-en-secondaire/
The signatories:
4motion
CID WOMEN AND GENDER
CESAS
CET
LGBTIQ+ Centre Cigale
Citizens for Ecological Learning & Living
The Podcast More than Sex
Family Centre
FESTROGEN
Laboratory of Queer Studies, Gender and Feminisms – LEQGF Asbl
LËTZ RISE UP
Megaphone
National Museum of Resistance and Human Rights
Family Planning
PRIZMA – uni.lu LGBT+ Students’ Association
queer loox
Richtung22
Rosa Lëtzebuerg asbl