Jarosław Kaczyński announced his backing for the legislation at a news conference on Thursday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Polish conservative leader said: “This bill aims to ensure that children won’t be subjected to practices that are harmful for them and that may lead to far-reaching changes in their psyche in later life and during adulthood.”
Kaczyński added: “The sexualisation of children, already at school age … is happening in Poland, but there is no legal barrier that would stop it.”
He told reporters: “If there’s anyone in Poland who should be especially firmly protected, it is children.”
Bid 'to prevent the sexualisation of children'
Sponsored by lower-house Speaker Elżbieta Witek, the citizens' bill was registered in parliament in April, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The authors of the bill, which is designed “to prevent the sexualisation of children,” have three months to collect the 100,000 signatures required for the draft legislation to enter parliament for consideration, according to officials.
Under the bill, it will be for parents to decide if their offspring are to access school content that may entail “the sexualisation of children,” the IAR news agency reported.
Over the past two months, Witek has held a series of meetings on the new bill, under the motto “Let’s protect children, let’s support parents,” focusing on child security and the dangers posed by the internet, as well as the problems of violence and addiction, according to officials.
The debates brought together parents, educators and government officials, including Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek and Family and Social Policy Minister Marlena Maląg, the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, tvp.info
