Children's ombudsman explains his words on sex-hormones offered to kids

Poland's Commissioner for Children's Rights Protection Mikołaj Pawlak said the following words in an interview for TVN24 on Tuesday: "Can you guarantee the sex educators, who we let in to 20,000 schools, won't be spreading such content, like for instance in Poznań, they spot a shaken, neglected child to whom they give some pharmaceuticals to change their sex without knowledge and consent of the parents and doctors?". According to Pawlak, such situations "had taken place and have been recently covered by the media".

Konkret24 fact-checkers tried to confirm Pawlak's information, but they haven't found any such reports. They also asked the Commissioner for Children's Rights Protection Office about Pawlak's comment, but received no answer.

TVN24 inquired about the said issue at the prosecutor's office in Poznań.

"The District Prosecutor's Office in Poznań received no reports regarding sex educators allegedly offering children sex-hormones or any other pills during school classes" - the spokesperson for the prosecutor's office Łukasz Wawrzyniak wrote in response.

On Thursday, Pawlak was asked about his words during an interview for Radio Poznań. He said that the "discussion dynamics" led him to use a mental shortcut. He also said that attacks on him were a result of revenge.

"I never said that it was happening in schools. Not even once. I only pointed out two fundamental issues. Namely, illegal sale of hormonal drugs to children and that is why I have notified the prosecutor," he explained.

He stressed that he has always been firmly against sex educators teaching "how to perform enema before anal sex". Pawlak said that "one organisation in Poznań" was instructing children how to do it during classes, but he did not mentioned the name of this organisation.

Earlier that day, Education Minister Dariusz Piontkowski commented on Pawlak's words. "We've spoken. wWe're in touch, exchanging information and from what he has told me he never said that such things were happening in schools. He only said that he has information about certain organisations and educators trying to use such methods" said the minister.

"As far as I know, he is to pass all information he has to the prosecutor and the police, and look into the case, but this is up to him now. We've checked through superintendents - we had no signals about such activities going on in schools," Piontkowski added.

The ombudsman's office informed on Wednesday that Pawlak had notified the National Public Prosecutor about "possible illegal sale of sex-change pharmaceuticals to minors".

"If the ombudsman had suspicions that such things could be happening, then I think he did the right thing, because if these things were actually happening, then it was illegal and the prosecutor's office will certainly investigate this case," Law and Justice MP Tomasz Rzymkowski told TVN24.

Rzymkowski was also asked whether Mikołaj Pawlak should step down. "For what reason? Because he cares about children, that he's doing his best to save children from corruption? I think the Commisioner did the right thing," law PiS lawmaker.

Members of the opposition have quite the opposite view on this matter and ask why the prosecutor has been notified only now.

"If the Commissioner for Human Rights realises only in the year 2020 that many dangers await online and decides to notify the prosecutor's office a day after he had lied to the public opinion trying to implicate sex educators in this case, than he is clearly seeking a way out, but unfortunately for him there's no emergency exit" - said Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, a lawmaker from the Left party. In her view, Pawlak "has embarrassed himself completely and should simply step down".

Also Civic Coalition (KO) demand the ombudsman's resignation. "I think no one has any doubts that yesterday's steps taken by the commissioner were only an attempt to escape this embarrassing situation he found himself in after the interview, in which contained - as everything seems to suggest - false accusations against school educators," said KO legistator Arkadiusz Myrcha.

The MP added that in his view, the commissioner "tries to save face". "But, I believe it's already too late. After such disgraceful words, false and immoral, the ombudsman should simply resign from office, rather than notify the prosecutor," Myrcha said.