Children's sexual citizenship

This chapter examines the concept of children's sexual citizenship, its meaning and importance to children's health and well-being, to their agency, and to building respectful and ethical gendered and sexual subjects. The precarious relationship between childhood and sexuality and its relevance to children's sexual citizenship is explored. Sexuality is widely considered in society as irrelevant or a danger to children; it is perceived as a signifier of being an adult. As such, some adults view sexuality as an aspect of adult life from which children need protection. This essay argues that the Western discourse of "childhood innocence," generally mobilized by adults to protect children, can work to undermine children's agency, their health and well-being, and increase their vulnerability to exploitation. The discourse of childhood innocence is often used to deny and regulate children's access to certain knowledge, particularly comprehensive sexuality education. Comprehensive sexuality education, which can be built on over the early years into adolescence, scaffolding children's learning, provides a critical opportunity to address amongst other issues, respectful and ethical relationships, gender and sexuality diversity, and sexual health and well-being, all relevant to children's and young people's sexual citizenship.