30,000 people signed petition against New Zealand transgender education

As we know New Zealand is a very inclusive country. In 2013, New Zealand declared that same-sex marriage was legal and became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in Oceania. In 2015, Statistics considered about the transgender people in the surveys and joined the “non-male and non-female” option.

In New Zealand, gender diversity education runs through primary school to the university. On the official website of the New Zealand Ministry of Education, the strategy for sex education including helping students build awareness of sex, gender, and sexual relationships.

The New Zealand Ministry of Education has also produced a guidebook called “Making Schools Safer for Trans and Gender Diverse Youth” to ensure that trans people are not harmed at school. This guidebook explains that the New Zealand school curriculum is based on values of diversity, fairness and respect, ensuring that all students are self-expression, self-aware and supported. The diversity here includes: cultural diversity, ethnic diversity, diversity of beliefs and values, diversity of learning needs, gender diversity, sexual orientation diversity, gender cognition and expression diversity.

However, on January 29, 2019, a lady named Helen Houghton issued a petition on the New Zealand Congress website, hoping that the New Zealand school could stop transgender education. This petition has been signed by more than 30,000 people.

What do you think about transgender education?