SEX EDUCATION FOR THE YOUTH

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Sex Education – The instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, age of consent, reproductive health, reproductive rights, safe sex, birth control, and sexual abstinence.

 I grew up in a community where the word sex was a curse. You don’t say it, you discover it on TV then you and your friends whisper about it in the playground over break time because it’s this new thing you heard about, but you’re not allowed to speak on.

In schools, when the topic on the reproductive system came up, some students would be highly uncomfortable or shy to talk about the basics because it’s not something you speak about. Sex is for adults, married adults. You do not get to choose when or how you become sexually active, it’s decided for you on the grounds of religious and cultural morality.

Young girls are told at a young age to stay away from boys and dating but do you tell your boys to stay away from girls? Is it ever a problem for a boy to practice premarital sex, and do you ever ask boys to “preserve” themselves?

Most young people are not offered enough sex education or are rather too shy to receive it. I remember being in a class with a girl who didn’t want to be present when anything about reproductive health was being discussed, and she said it was against her beliefs and she can’t discuss such things in the presence of boys. The information offered in schools may be adequate but the mentality instilled upon us about sex as this sacred act that you should never think about let alone attempt to do blocks us from learning anything significant to our sexual health.

Young people that are sexually active hide it from their parents and are more scared of getting pregnant than they are of sexually transmitted diseases. Clinics offering reproductive health services are not youth-friendly thus, most youth end up suffering from sexually transmitted infections and practicing unsafe methods of abortions in fear of being forced into early marriage or disappointing their parents.

How does society make us believe making our parents proud is far better than practicing safe sex? How do we even view having a baby as being way worse than a LIFETIME SEXUAL INFECTION? What benefit is the lack of proper sex education giving our community? The prevalence rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases among the youth will keep increasing if we keep treating sex like we do.

Of course, from all this, we can safely say the most popular form of sex education we get is “Abstinence by intimidation.” But we still have teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections among the youth and unsafe methods of abortion being practiced. There is no safe space for the youth to receive sex-related information and help in the form of contraceptives and medication without scrutiny and judgment. Having sex is like breaking the societal law and pregnancy being the only proof that someone had sex.

Although it is difficult for both young men and women to procure any sex-related information and help that is not abstinence, it is even worse for young women due to gender discrimination and the idea of the “Virgin wife material.”

To reduce the occurrence of teenage pregnancies, HIV infections, and other sexually transmitted infections, it is vital to educate young people on reproductive health that goes beyond abstinence and is not governed by any religious or cultural moral compass. Young people deserve the right to various contraceptive options in an environment free of intimidation and more room to candidly discuss issues pertaining to their sexual health. Sexual education should be available in schools, homes, and local health centers in a youth-friendly setting.