SIR – The statement from Jane Collins of UKIP that a well-respected organisation, the Sex Education Forum, would tell parents not to let children kiss their grandparents (Letters, January 10) seemed ridiculous to me.
So I searched online, and lo and behold, it’s a typical tabloid twist and slur repeated by one of your regular UKIP correspondents. They have misrepresented some pretty sensible advice not to force unwilling children to kiss adults.
They have misquoted a recently-published SEF report revealing that only three in ten schoolchildren learn about their right to withhold consent from unwanted physical contact (including sexual contact) at school because it isn’t covered properly in sex education.
The SEF make the reasonable point that teaching children they must always obey adults when instructed to kiss or be similarly intimate is not a good idea and telling children they can show affection in some other way such as a hug or a handshake or a ‘high five’ is their choice. Not that you would know this from the UKIP letter.
Bob Cannell, Heaton Grove, Bradford
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