Allow porn in schools: Swiss men's group

The group, Männer.ch, told newspaper NZZ am Sonntag that it wants teachers to be able to show children porn in the classroom so that young people can learn how to deal with it.

The group is calling for a change in the law so that "parents and trained professionals are not liable to prosecution if they make pornographic materials accessible to 16-year-olds with a clear educational objective and within a carefully selected and well-defined setting."

The leader of the movement is 39-year-old sociologist and psychologist Markus Theunert.

“Today, an overwhelming majority of children have already seen pornographic movies over the internet or on smartphones,” he told NZZ.

To facilitate debate in the classroom Theunert wants teachers of sex education to be able to show pupils "a few minutes of soft pornography". The group stresses that pupils would be free to opt out if they were opposed to viewing porn at school.

The idea has caused outrage among many. Swiss People’s Party parliamentarian Anita Borer believes the idea of showing children porn films in school is “totally inappropriate” and that the content would overwhelm many students.

Others say they are keen to encourage pupils to talk about sex in the classroom but draw the line at pornography.

“It’s good to talk but you don’t have to show images,” Luc Barthassat of the Christian Democratic People’s Party told Le Matin.

Aside from heading Männer.ch, Theunert also recently became Zurich's first ever male affairs representative, a post his critics feel he has now jeopardized. 

“If Mr. Theunert makes such questionable statements again then he must accept the consequences and resign from his position," Swiss People’s Party parliament member Rochus Burtscher told 20 Minuten.