Sex Education Banned On This Boat

Sex education websites have been blocked on the WiFi service used on a Canadian public transportation service (BC Ferries) in case of “inappropriate photos” and “whatnot.”

BC Ferries has blocked the usual suspects like ”child porn,” “hate speech,” “illegal activities”, “non-sexual nudity”, ”streaming media” and “file transfer services.” Also abortion and sex education are on this list.

This is being criticized by the BC Civil Liberties Association and the sexual health charity Options for Sexual Health.

I’m sorry, but since when did looking up birth control and family planning constitute inappropriate behaviour? What about women doing research on pregnancy? What about someone worried about an itch who wants to know symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)? What about young people doing homework for their sex education class at school? What about someone wanting to get an abortion, which, by the way, is a legal medical service?

Sure, there might be pictures of naked bodies, but naked bodies are not inherently “inappropriate.” In fact, looking at naked bodies is one way to learn about STIs, pregnancy, birth, abortion, and “whatnot”, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

There is a huge difference between pornography, sex education, and the right to access accurate and up-to-date reproductive health information and BC Ferries needs to make this right.

Contact the author here: mack@morningquickie.com