Sex education may also be described as "sexuality education," which means
that it encompasses education about all aspects of sexuality, including
information about reproduction (fertilisation,conception and development of the embryo and fetus,
through to childbirth), plus
information about all aspects of one's sexuailty including: body image, sexual
orientation, sexual
pleasure, values, decision making, communication, dating, relationships,sexually transmitted infections
(STIs) and how to avoid them, and birth control methods.
Sex education may be taught informally, such as when someone receives
information from a conversation with a parent, friend,
religious leader, or through the
media. It may also be
delivered through sex self-help
authors, magazine advice columnists, sex columnists, or through sex education web
sites. Formal sex education occurs when schools offer sex education.
Sometimes formal sex education is taught as a full course as part of the curriculum in junior high
school or high school.
Other times it is only one unit within a more broad health class, home economics class, or physical
education class. Some schools offer no sex education, since it remains a controversial issue in several
countries, particularly the United States (especially with regard to the age at
which children should start receiving such education, the amount of detail that
is revealed, and topics dealing with human sexual behavior, eg. safe sex practices, masturbation, premarital sex, and sexual ethics).
In 1936, Wilhelm
Reich commented that sex education of his time was a work of deception, focusing on biology while
concealing excitement-arousal, which is what a pubescent individual is mostly
interested in. Reich added that this emphasis obscures what he believed to be a
basic psychological principle: that all worries and difficulties originate from
unsatisfied sexual impulses.[1]
When sex education is contentiously debated, the chief controversial points
are whether covering child sexuality is valuable or detrimental; the
use of birth control such as condoms and
hormonal
contraception; and the impact of such use on pregnancy outside marriage, teenage pregnancy,
and the transmission of STIs. Increasing support for abstinence-only sex education by
conservative groups has been one of the primary causes of this controversy.
Countries with conservative attitudes towards sex education (including the UK
and the U.S.) have a higher incidence of STIs and teenage pregnancy.[2]
The existence of AIDS has given a new
sense of urgency to the topic of sex education. In many African nations, where AIDS is at epidemic levels (see
HIV/AIDS in
Africa), sex education is seen by most scientists as a vital public health strategy.
Some international organizations such as Planned Parenthood consider that broad sex
education programs have global benefits, such as controlling the risk of overpopulation and the
advancement of women's
rights (see also reproductive rights).
According to SIECUS, the Sexuality
Information and Education Council of the United States, 93% of adults they
surveyed support sexuality education in high school and 84% support it in junior
high school.[3] In fact, 88% of parents of junior high school
students and 80% of parents of high school students believe that sex education
in school makes it easier for them to talk to their adolescents about sex.[4] Also, 92% of
adolescents report that they want both to talk to their parents about sex and to
have comprehensive in-school sex education.[5]
[edit]
Sex education worldwide
[edit]
United States
- See also: Adolescent sexuality in
the United States and Abstinence-only sex
education
Almost all U.S. students receive some form of sex education at least once
between grades 7 and 12; many schools begin addressing some topics as early as
grades 5 or 6.[6] However, what students learn varies widely,
because curriculum decisions are so decentralized. Many states have laws
governing what is taught in sex education classes or allowing parents to opt
out. Some state laws leave curriculum decisions to individual school
districts.[7]
For example, a 1999 study by the Guttmacher Institute found that most U.S.
sex education courses in grades 7 through 12 cover puberty, HIV, STIs, abstinence, implications of teenage pregnancy, and how to resist peer
pressure. Other studied topics, such as methods of birth control and infection prevention, sexual
orientation, sexual
abuse, and factual and ethical information about abortion, varied more widely.[8]
Two main forms of sex education are taught in American schools: comprehensive
and abstinence-only. Comprehensive
sex education covers abstinence as a positive choice, but also teaches about
contraception and avoidance of STIs when sexually active. A 2002 study conducted
by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that
58% of secondary school principals describe their sex education curriculum as
comprehensive.[7]
Abstinence-only sex education tells teenagers that they should be sexually
abstinent until marriage and does not provide information about contraception.
In the Kaiser study, 34% of high-school principals said their school's main
message was abstinence-only.
The difference between these two approaches, and their impact on teen
behavior, remains a controversial subject in the U.S. Teenage birth rates had
been dropping in the U.S. since 1991, but a 2007 report showed 3% increase from
2005 to 2006.[9] From 1991 to 2005, the percentage of teens
reporting that they had ever had sex or were currently sexually active showed
small declines.[10] However, the U.S. still has the highest teen
birth rate and one of the highest rates of STIs among teens in the
industrialized world.[11] Public opinion polls
conducted over the years have found that the vast majority of Americans favor
broader sex education programs over those that teach only abstinence, although
abstinence educators recently published poll data with the totally opposite
conclusion.[12][13][14]
Proponents of comprehensive sex education, which include the American Psychological
Association,[15] the American Medical Association,[16] the National Association
of School Psychologists,[17] the American Academy of
Pediatrics,[18] the American Public Health
Association,[19] the Society
for Adolescent Medicine[20] and the American
College Health Association,[20] argue that sexual behavior after
puberty is a given, and it is therefore crucial to provide information about the
risks and how they can be minimized; they also claim that denying teens such
factual information leads to unwanted pregnancies and STIs.
On the other hand, proponents of abstinence-only sex education object to
curricula that fail to teach moral behavior; they maintain that a morality based
on sex only within the bounds of marriage is "healthy and constructive" and that
value-free knowledge of the body may lead to immoral, unhealthy, and harmful
practices. Within the last decade, the federal government has encouraged
abstinence-only education by steering over a billion dollars to such
programs.[21] Some 15 states now decline the funding so that
they can continue to teach comprehensive sex education.[22][23][24][25] Funding for one of the
federal government's two main abstinency-only funding programs, Title V, was
extended only until December 31, 2007; Congress is debating whether to continue
it past that date.[26]
The impact of the rise in abstinence-only education remains a question. To
date, no published studies of abstinence-only programs have found consistent and
significant program effects on delaying the onset of intercourse.[11] In 2007, a study ordered by the
U.S. Congress found that middle school students who took part in abstinence-only
sex education programs were just as likely to have sex (and use contraception)
in their teenage years as those who did not.[27] Abstinence-only advocates claimed that
the study was flawed because it was too narrow and began when abstinence-only
curricula were in their infancy, and that other studies have demonstrated
positive effects.[28]
[edit]
Europe
In England and Wales, sex education is not compulsory in schools as
parents can refuse to let their children take part in the lessons. The
curriculum focuses on the reproductive system, fetal development, and the
physical and emotional changes of adolescence, while information about
contraception and safe sex is discretionary. Britain has one of the highest
teenage pregnancy rates in Europe and sex education is a heated issue in
government and media reports. In a 2000 study by the University of Brighton,
many 14 to 15 year olds reported disappointment with the content of sex
education lessons and felt that lack of confidentiality prevents teenagers from
asking teachers about contraception.[29]
In Scotland, the main sex
education program is Healthy Respect, which focuses not only on the
biological aspects of reproduction but also on relationships and emotions.
Education about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases are
included in the program as a way of encouraging good sexual health. In response
to a refusal by Catholic schools to commit to the program, however, a separate
sex education program has been developed for use in those schools. Funded by the
Scottish
Executive, the program Call to Love focuses on encouraging children
to delay sex until marriage, and does not cover contraception, and as such is a
form of abstinence-only sex
education.[citation needed]
In France, sex education has been
part of school curricula since 1973. Schools are expected to provide 30 to 40
hours of sex education, and pass out condoms, to students in grades eight and
nine. In January 2000, the French government launched an information campaign on
contraception with TV and radio spots and the distribution of five million
leaflets on contraception to high school students.[29]
In Germany, sex education has been
part of school curricula since 1970. It normally covers all subjects concerning
the growing-up process, the changing of the body, emotions, the biological
process of reproduction, sexual activity, partnership, homosexuality, unwanted
pregnancies and the complications of abortion, the dangers of sexual violence,
child abuse, and sex-transmitted diseases, but sometimes also things like sex
positions. Most schools offer courses on the correct usage of contraception.
There are also other media of sex education, in first place the youth magazine
"Bravo", which always contains a topic where teenagers pose questions about
partnership and sexuality.[citation needed]
Subsidized by the Dutch
government, the “Lang leve de liefde” (“Long Live Love”) package, developed in
the late 1980s, aims to give teenagers the skills to take their own decisions
regarding health and sexuality. Nearly all secondary schools provide sex
education as part of biology classes and over half of primary schools discuss
sexuality and contraception. The curriculum focuses on biological aspects of
reproduction as well as on values, attitudes, communication and negotiation
skills. The media has encouraged open dialogue and the health-care system
guarantees confidentiality and a non-judgmental approach. The Netherlands has
one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates in the world, and the Dutch approach
is often seen as a model for other countries.[30]
In Sweden, sex education has been a
mandatory part of school education since 1956. The subject is usually started at
grades 4–6, and continues up through the grades, incorporated into different
subjects such as biology and history. In Finland, the Population and Family Welfare Federation
provides to all 15-year-olds an introductory sexual package that includes an
information brochure, a condom and a cartoon love story.[31]
In Switzerland, the content
and amount of sex education is decided at the cantonal level. In Geneva, courses have been given at the secondary level
since the 1950s. Interventions in primary schools were started more recently,
with the objective of making children conscious of what is and isn't allowed,
and able to say "No". In secondary schools (age 13-14), condoms are shown to all
pupils, and are demonstrated by unfolding over the teacher's fingers. For this,
classes are usually separated into girl-only and boy-only subgroups. Condoms are
not distributed, however, except among older adolescents engaged in state-run
non-compulsory education (age 16-17).[citation needed]
The state of sex education programs in Asia is at various stages of
development. Indonesia, Mongolia, South Korea and Sri Lanka have a systematic policy framework for
teaching about sex within schools. Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand have assessed adolescent reproductive health
needs with a view to developing adolescent-specific training, messages and
materials. India has programs that
specifically aims at school children at the age group of nine to sixteen years.
These are included as subjects in the curriculum and generally involves open and
frank interaction with the teachers. In India, there is a huge debate on the
curriculum of sex education and when should it be increased. Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal
and Pakistan have no coordinated sex
education programs.[32]
In Japan, sex education is mandatory
from age 10 or 11, mainly covering biological topics such as menstruation and
ejaculation. [31]
In China, sex education traditionally
consists in reading the reproduction section of biology textbooks. However, in
2000 a new five-year project was introduced by the China Family Planning
Association to "promote reproductive health education among Chinese teenagers
and unmarried youth" in twelve urban districts and three counties. This includes
discussion about sex within human relationships as well as pregnancy and HIV
prevention. [33]
The International Planned
Parenthood Federation and the BBC World Service ran a 12-part series known
as Sexwise, which discussed sex education, family life education,
contraception and parenting. It was first launched in South Asia and then
extended worldwide.[34]
[edit]
Africa
Sex education in Africa has focused on stemming the growing AIDS epidemic.
Most governments in the region have established AIDS education programs in
partnership with the World Health Organization and
international NGOs. These programs commonly
teach the 'ABC' of HIV prevention, which has been frequently backed by the Bush
Administration: a combination of abstinence (A), fidelity to your partner (Be
faithful) and condom use (C). (See Abstinence, be faithful,
use a condom.) The efforts of these educational campaigns appear now to be
bearing fruit. In Uganda, condom use has
increased, youths are delaying the age at which sexual intercourse first occurs,
and overall rates of HIV infection have been going down.[35]
Egypt teaches knowledge about male and
female reproductive systems, sexual organs, contraception and STDs in public
schools at the second and third years of the middle-preparatory phase (when
students are aged 12–14). There is currently a coordinated program between UNDP, UNICEF, and the ministries of health and education to
promote sexual education at a larger scale in rural areas and spread awareness
of dangers of female circumcision.
[edit]
Morality of sex education
One approach to sex education is to view it as necessary to reduce risk
behaviours such as unprotected sex, and equip individuals to make informed
decisions about their personal sexual activity. Additionally, some proponents of
comprehensive sex education contend that education about homosexuality
encourages tolerance and understanding that homosexuality isn't something that
is wrong.
Another viewpoint on sex education, historically inspired by sexologists like
Wilhelm Reich and
psychologists like Sigmund
Freud and James
W. Prescott, holds that what is at stake in sex education is control over
the body and liberation from social control. Proponents of this view tend to see
the political question as whether society or the individual should teach sexual
mores. Sexual education may thus be seen
as providing individuals with the knowledge necessary to liberate themselves
from socially organized sexual oppression and to make up their own
minds. In addition, sexual oppression may be viewed as socially harmful.
To another group in the sex education debate, the question is whether the state or the family should teach sexual mores. They believe that sexual mores should be left to
the family, and sex-education represents state interference. They claim that
some sex education curricula break down pre-existing notions of modesty and encourage acceptance of practices that
those advocating this viewpoint deem immoral, such as homosexuality and premarital sex. They cite web sites such as that
of the Coalition for Positive
Sexuality as examples. Naturally, those that believe that homosexuality and
premarital sex are a normal part of the range of human sexuality disagree with
them.
Many religions teach that sexual behavior outside of marriage is immoral, so
their adherents feel that this morality should be taught as part of sex
education. Other religious conservatives believe that sexual knowledge is
unavoidable, hence their preference for a curricula based on abstinence.[36]
[edit]
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
youth
Youth
seeking his father's advice on loveFrom the Haft Awrang of Jami, in the story A Father Advises his Son
About Love. His counsel is to choose that lover who desires him for his
inner beauty. See Sufi
outlook on male love Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, DC. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth are often ignored in sex education classes,
including a frequent lack of discussion about safer sex practices for manual, oral, and anal sex, despite these activities' different risk
levels for sexually transmitted diseases.
Some people do not agree with comprehensive sexual education that references
or discusses such practices, believing that including this additional
information might be seen as encouraging homosexual behavior. Proponents of such
comprehensive curricula hold that by excluding discussion of these issues or the
issues of homosexuality,
bisexuality, or transgenderedness, feelings of
isolation, loneliness, guilt and shame as well as depression are made much worse for
students who belong or believe they may belong to one of these categories, or
are unsure of their sexual identity. Supporters of including LGBT issues as an integral part of comprehensive sexuality
education argue that this information is still useful and relevant and reduces
the likelihood of suicide, sexually
transmitted disease, 'acting out' and maladaptive behavior in these students. In the
absence of such discussion, these youths are said to be de facto forced
to remain in the closet, while
youths are left without guidance on dealing with their own possible same-gender
attractions and with their LGBT classmates.
Supporters of comprehensive sex education programs argue that abstinence-only
curricula (that advocate that youth should abstain from sex until marriage)
ignore and marginalize lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, who are
often unable to marry a partner due to legal restrictions.
Proponents of abstinence-only education often have a more conservative view of
homosexuality and bisexuality and are against them being taught as normal,
acceptable orientations, or placed in equal footing to heterosexual
acts/relations, and so they generally do not see this as a problem. While
supporters of comprehensive programs feel that this is a major problem as it
could lead GLBT youth to feel even more
alienated and shameful of their sexual orientation.
[edit]
Scientific study of sex education
The debate over teenage pregnancy and STDs has spurred some
research into the effectiveness of different approaches to sex education. In a
meta-analysis, DiCenso et al. have compared comprehensive sex education
programs with abstinence-only programs.[37] Their review of several studies
shows that abstinence-only programs did not reduce the likelihood of pregnancy
of women who participated in the programs, but rather increased it. Four
abstinence programs and one school program were associated with a pooled
increase of 54% in the partners of men and 46% in women (confidence
interval 95% 0.95 to 2.25 and 0.98 to 2.26 respectively). The researchers
conclude:
- "There is some evidence that prevention programs may need to begin much
earlier than they do. In a recent systematic review of eight trials of day care for disadvantaged children
under 5 years of age, long term follow up showed lower pregnancy rates among adolescents. We need to investigate
the social determinants of unintended pregnancy in adolescents through large
longitudinal studies beginning early in life and use the results of the
multivariate analyses to guide the design of prevention interventions. We should
carefully examine countries with low pregnancy rates among adolescents. For
example, the Netherlands has
one of the lowest rates in the world (8.1 per 1000 young women aged 15 to 19
years), and Ketting & Visser have published an analysis of associated
factors.[38] In contrast, the rates are:
- We should examine effective programs designed to prevent other high risk
behaviors in adolescents. For example, Botvin et al. found that school
based programs to prevent drug
abuse during junior high
school (ages 12–14 years) resulted in important and durable reductions in
use of tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis if they
taught a combination of social resistance skills and general life skills, were
properly implemented, and included at least two years of booster sessions.
- Few sexual health interventions are designed with input from adolescents.
Adolescents have suggested that sex education should be more positive with less
emphasis on anatomy and scare tactics;
it should focus on negotiation
skills in sexual relationships and communication; and details of
sexual health clinics should be advertised in areas that adolescents frequent
(for example, school toilets, shopping centres)."[37]
Also, a U.S. review, "Emerging Answers", by the National Campaign To Prevent
Teenage Pregnancy examined 250 studies of sex education programs.[40]
The conclusion of this review was that "the overwhelming weight of evidence
shows that sex education that discusses contraception does not increase sexual
activity". Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org
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