Sexualisation of girls: let children be children.

Venerating girls who act and dress as adult women contributes to the promotion of a negative phenomenon called sexualisation. Researchers, representatives from production companies, parent organisations, MEPs and government representatives took part in a public hearing on the sexualisation of girls on Tuesday 6 June in the European Parliament. Organised by Joanna Skrzydlewska MEP and the EPP Group, this debate is a first step to publicise issues related to sexualisation on European level, to more clearly define the problem and launch a reflection on how to prevent the negative consequences of this phenomenon.

"Sexualisation is nothing more than imposing the sexuality of adults on young children, teenagers and especially girls when they are not ready for it emotionally, mentally or physically. It is also the case when the value of a person is measured by their physical attractiveness, which leads to the objectification of the individual. In today's culture, which also addresses children, eroticised images and sexually suggestive content are omnipresent. This affects the development of children and young people, and affects the perception of sexual behaviour in our societies", said Joanna Skrzydlewska MEP, the EP Rapporteur on the sexualisation of girls.

At the same time, Joanna Skrzydlewska highlighted that sexual development of children and teenagers is a normal and healthy biological process and should not in any case be confused with sexualisation, which leads to imposing adult sexual behaviours on children.

"We should ask ourselves if the direct results of sexualisation, such as the increase of child sexual abuse, the intensification of the phenomenon of child pornography or the increase of sexual violence against women and girls, are the price we want to pay in relation to the commercialisation of life and human relations", added Ms Skrzydlewska.

Sexualisation, which affects girls at a very young age, also has an impact on their adult life. Therefore it is important that we draw attention to the consequences of bringing up girls in an environment dominated by eroticised content.

"As a Member of the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee (FEMM), I usually deal with issues related to the discrimination of women. This discrimination is caused, to a great extent, by the stereotypical perception of women. This, in turn, has an impact on the employment of women and their role in political as well as social life."

Sexualisation is a supranational phenomenon. This is why it is essential that the European Parliament initiates the debate at European level in order to make the public opinion aware of the negative impact of sexualisation. MEPs also want to ask the European Commission to provide appropriate solutions and recommendations to fight with the negative consequences of sexualisation. The EP and the European Commission should aim at developing preventive measures against sexualisation. They should indicate the possible ways for reducing already-existing symptoms of sexualisation and for fighting its negative consequences.