The 2024 school year will begin under the banner of the new Quebec Culture and Citizenship (CCQ) course, which covers a variety of themes such as democracy, social order, identity, autonomy and sex education. Teachers will inevitably find themselves faced with delicate situations, particularly in 2e and 4e secondary school, where they will have to address issues of sexual violence.
Among these forms of violence, sexual exploitation requires special attention, as it affects many young people throughout the province. Sex education, as defined in the CCQ program, aims to promote gender equality, respect for oneself and others, while preventing sexual violence. However, this vision clashes with economic interests that trade in the bodies of young girls, reducing their sexuality to a simple consumer product.
Many young people enter prostitution voluntarily, influenced by the idea that it is a “job” like any other. On TikTok, pimps recruit by promising a lot of money for a supposedly ordinary job. “Grooming”, now almost always online, is a manipulation technique by which an individual establishes a relationship of trust with a minor to prepare sexual abuse or other forms of exploitation. Young girls belonging to ethnic minority groups and young people from the LGBTQ+ community are particularly vulnerable. The research “Ça escalade tout” also demonstrates how social networks facilitate the entry of minors into prostitution.
The CCQ course is a great opportunity to deconstruct this subculture, which trivializes these activities by presenting the bodies of young people as a simple tool to earn money, and prostitution as an easy way to access a luxurious lifestyle.
The 2020 Special Commission on the Sexual Exploitation of Minors also recommends integrating content on the prevention and risks of sexual exploitation into sex education courses. It suggests addressing consent, healthy interpersonal relationships, self-esteem, respect and the safe use of social media. This topic fits perfectly with the justice and law theme of the CCQ course. This is a valuable opportunity to explain to students the Canadian law that criminalizes the purchase of sexual services and those who profit from them (clients and pimps), while decriminalizing and protecting people in prostitution. This way, young victims caught in the spiral of sexual exploitation will know that they will never be criminalized, even if their pimps try to make them believe otherwise.
Teachers are encouraged to be mindful of their choice of words, as they can influence students’ perceptions. Using the term “sex work” instead of “prostitution” or “sexual exploitation” may seem inclusive, but it risks trivializing the reality of the sex industry, especially among young people. Minimizing the dangers of prostitution and its consequences on the physical, mental and emotional health of victims could lead to a misunderstanding of this reality and give the impression that prostitution is just another form of student employment.
The recent United Nations report entitled “Prostitution and violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences” also points out that the term “sex work” has no basis in international law. The report warns us: when society normalizes and accepts the prostitution system as a means of subsistence, it implicitly accepts that the most marginalized women and girls are overrepresented in prostitution. The use of vocabulary that is consistent with Canadian law and the egalitarian values of Quebec society is therefore strongly recommended.
Encouraging students to examine the ethical issues and cultural realities associated with the commodification of bodies while guiding them toward respectful, egalitarian, and healthy behaviors in their future relationships is essential. Although the CCQ program aims to develop students’ critical thinking and free dialogue rather than provide definitive answers to ethical questions, care must still be taken to ensure that the concepts addressed do not lead to excessive relativism. To effectively prevent the sexual exploitation of young people, it is essential to remember that sexual consent cannot be monetized.