Midwives support curriculum that teaches consent and affirms LGBTQ communities
July 19, 2018
Toronto – July 19, 2018 - The Association of Ontario Midwives (AOM) is concerned by the Ontario government’s announcements this month that schools will revert back to a health curriculum taught twenty years ago.
Midwives urge the government to equip Ontario students with the knowledge they need to be healthy and safe. This includes knowledge about their bodies, consent, LGBT communities, and on-line safety. This also includes curriculum that is informed by research.
The 1998 health curriculum was developed before the legalization of same sex marriage, and before the addition of gender identity and expression as protected grounds in the Human Rights Code. It was also written before access to social media, sexting and cyber-bullying, all now commonplace.
In our work as midwives, we provide care to people who are survivors of sexual violence, to teenagers who are pregnant, and to people from the LGBT community looking for affirming health care.
“Midwives imagine a future where fewer of the women and trans people we care for have had to cope with and endure experiences of violence and trauma – and we believe this begins with educating children about their bodies and equipping young people with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate the complex world we live in,” stated Elizabeth Brandeis, President of the AOM Board and midwife in Toronto.
There are over 800 midwives in Ontario, serving 77 communities in 90 clinics across the province. Approximately 17% of births in Ontario in 2018 will be attended by a midwife. Since midwifery became a regulated health profession in 1994, more than 225,000 babies have been born under midwifery care. See more midwifery by the numbers.
Midwives are experts in normal pregnancy, birth and newborn care, university educated and trained in emergency management. Midwifery care is publicly funded and is rooted in the most current maternal and newborn care research and evidence.
For more information, please contact:
Juana Berinstein, Director of Policy & Communications
Desk: 416-425-9974 x 2229
juana.berinstein@aom.on.ca