Throughout my seven years of high school, I cannot say that I have ever received a comprehensive class about sex. In Guyana, there seems to be this idea that 1) sex is a terrible, immoral act that ought not to be thought of by school-aged children, and that 2) educating students about sex will cause them to become “loose”, and that it is, therefore, better to avoid the topic all together.
Yet, the lack of sex education can lead to severe consequences. Firstly, consider this: many of the children whose parents do not want them to learn about sex in school are most likely not going to teach them about it themselves. What avenue is, therefore, left for a teenager who wants to learn? Do they take to the Internet, or do they assimilate information slowly over time from people and various media around them? Everyone is aware of the issue of validity of information available on the Internet, but here’s what’s particularly dangerous about the information from the latter — information about sex received from popular media and people who are biased and/or uneducated in this particular field can not only be erroneous, but can lead to a variety of misconceptions; everything from what is adequate protection, to what constitutes a healthy relationship. Information from biased sources can lead to the perpetuation of attitudes, which, frankly, to put it gently should not be allowed to continue. We often ask ourselves why Guyana has such a problem with sexual assault, but if a boy’s only explanation about sex comes from his older male relative who tells him “don’t take no for an answer, be a man”, can we really be surprised? Often times when a sexual assault case comes to light, we reexamine the culture of our society, and try to think about if we are creating an enabling environment for these crimes to occur. I am not saying that the boy would be justified in raping a girl, but I am saying that we need to realise that attitudes surrounding sex are passed from generation to generation, and often times these attitudes are not ideal. Without access to an unbiased channel of information, that boy may very well grow up to believe that during sex he must be forceful and aggressive, and that elsewise he’s less of a man.
Comprehensive sex education should be about more than just what diseases you can get. It should be concerned with ensuring that young people are acting responsibly with both their bodies, and minds. It should teach them to discern the difference between a consenting relationship and one in which they are being taken advantage of, or used. It should teach them how to deal with the fallout of a breakup, lest they turn to self-harm or even suicide. It should NOT be abstinence only. I cannot stress how baffling I find it that people think that an abstinence-only approach is the best; they argue that educating teenagers about healthy sexual behaviours gives them all the tools to be sexually active and will encourage this “immoral” behaviour. As if a teenager who is uneducated but wants to have sex isn’t going to have sex. To me, the evidence is clear. We tell students to practise abstinence only; yet, we have a high level of teenage pregnancy. This goes to show that teenagers are not only having sex, but doing so without the proper protection, putting themselves at risk for diseases, and for pregnancy.
Finally, to ye who preach that teaching anything but abstinence before marriage is unholy, remember that Guyana is a secular state. Having sex before marriage is not illegal. This alone reflects our state’s secularism. If the religion could not influence the law, it should not influence the policies by which our children are educated. Our curriculum should be devised in the best interests of all of our students. If you would like to impress the value of abstinence upon your child in your home or church, you are free to do so. But you have no right to force it upon everyone else’s.
