This article is written by Shriyanshi Chitransh, student of FIMT law school, GGSIPU. This article gives a detailed information about sex education and its importance in schools.
Table of Contents
Introduction
When was the last time you used algebra in real life? If you are not an engineer or a scientist, then Nowhere! As terrible as it was for some students to do it, they still did it and nobody stopped them. So there should not be an issue for giving sex education to young minds. Knowing about your own body is our right and the parents have the responsibility to provide with them the knowledge and awareness a young mind needs to know. Access to comprehensive sex education is a human right. Society can no longer passively leave it to streets or the internet to brainwash the kid’s mind with incomplete knowledge and set sexual standard values.
Meaning of sex education
Sex education is a comprehensive set of knowledge and process of learning the emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality. Sex education should include information about puberty, menstruation, contraceptives, condoms, sexual violence prevention, sexual orientation, gender identity and body image. Sex education will provide the importance of own well being and health and others, it gives better understanding and the protection of the rights throughout their lives. People have so many different conceptions about sex education. Many people think teaching children sex education is equivalent to permitting them to engage in sexual intercourse, which is not true.
Engaging in sexual intercourse is their choice and if they are, they should be aware of the consequences and how to prevent diseases and unintended pregnancy. Having knowledge, skills, values will empower them to realize their health and well being and their dignity and have respectful social and sexual relationships. Sex education should treat sexual development as a normal human development. Young people have the right to live a healthy life and the society has the responsibility to create an environment for them and yield them with comprehensive Sex education which will help them to make healthy decisions. But this is not enough, Children are perplexed and demand honest answers. Comprehensive sex education should provide honest, age-appropriate informations.
Need for sex education and reasons to support sex education in schools
Every child should know that they can decide who can touch them. Puberty brings out dramatic physical and mental change to an unprepared child. Sex education should be mandatory in school. Parents should not be allowed to opt-in or opt-out of something they are going to need in their life. Sex education doesn’t increase the engagement of a child to sex but actually does the opposite. Here are some reasons to support sex education in school:
Teenagers need to know safer options
Studies have shown that sexually aware students are most likely to say no to unprotected sex. Through sex education, teenagers can be taught the positive and negative sides of sex. They can learn about sexually transmitted disease, teenage unintended pregnancy, and emotional effects of sex. It teaches the students how to reduce the risk by using various methods such as condoms, the pill, and hormonal contraceptives. Teens are alarmed about these things and engage in responsible sexual behaviour.
Teenagers have better understanding values and autonomy over their bodies
Sex education teaches the child not only the basics of puberty, body changes and development but also gives a comprehensive understanding of their bodies and how to say no to unwanted sexual activities.
Sex education works
From time to time, research has shown that sex education taught with accurate and appropriate information about human sexuality, including steps to reduce the risks, has been beneficial to the students.
Exemption from the feeling of being broken or being distressed
Often, a child who is unaware of his/her bodily developments find it completely annoying to feel changes in the body. They feel different and broken. Sex education prepares the child mentally and emotionally about the changes a human body goes through in the span of life.
Sex education instills in young mind to be more respectful towards each other
When a young kid is taught about the changes and how everybody has different struggles in their life, they grow up to be more responsible. They don’t make fun of their peers if they are going through some bodily changes or girls having periods. They learn to adapt to the concept and how it is important to be there for each other instead of making fun of each other.
The objective and importance of sex education
The objective of sex education is to help children, teenagers understand the body of men and women and improving their attitudes towards sexual and reproductive health behaviours. Understanding the differences and similarities between the genders will help them to know more about their body and how it changes as they grow up. This mindset will set up a foundation for future development in acquaintance with their friends or lovers. Sex Education sow a seed of responsiblity in one’s mind towards others as well as oneself. It is about self-acceptance and embracing one’s body.
The importance of sex education:
- It is important for a person to realize the health, well being and dignity of not only themselves but also of others. It simply means honoring and having empathy with the range of experiences and identities that exist in the world that every human goes through.
- Developing respectful social and sexual relationships will enhance life quality. Some people choose to be in a relationship, some people don’t. Some people will have feelings of attraction not restricted to one gender. But that’s okay. Every individual’s likes and dislikes vary. Relationships can be dramatic but all of these need to be acknowledged as human experiences, even, when they are different from one’s own. The past few decades have seen a drastic changes towards the equality and the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals yet they face discrimination and harassment at some of their life because of sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Sexual health can affect the academic success of students. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that students who choose to not engage in sexual activity tend to have higher academic grades than the students who choose to engage. Health-related problems and teenage unintended pregnancy can lead to absenteeism and dropping out.
- Good Sex Education teaches the young generation what consititutes sexual violence. Sometimes kids are unaware of the sexual exploitation they are experiencing, they hesitate to tell their parents about it because they are not aware of it. Sexual violence is wrong and kids have the right to know about their body and ask for help if they have been assaulted.
- Good Sex education instills an understanding of how the choices affect their well-being and that of others. Having mutual respect results in reliable relationships, how we interact with other people possess a powerful and long-lasting impact on the people involved.
Best age to give sex education
Some girls experience menstruation at the age of nine. Therefore, the parents need to understand that their child experiences sexual development as he/she grows up. One big talk won’t help the kid to gather knowledge and awareness about sexual activity. If the parent is unaware of any such questions related to puberty, they can take the help of books, videos, or the internet, but providing the kid with the right kind of information is important. Mothers should take the initiative of telling their daughters how menstruation is normal and a sign of becoming a complete woman and fathers should tell their sons about nocturnal emissions.
Need to give sex education by the parents
Sex is already taught over the internet in a poorly manner. Children are curious, they gather information about sex before the parents can even imagine. Therefore, parents should take the initiative to teach their children Sex education from a young age and continuing the education as the child grows, this also creates a sense of security between the child and the parents. Having open and free communication about sex, can make children openly talk about the other trials of adolescence such as anxiety, depression, use of drugs, alcohol as well as sexual issues with their parents. Parents should not be relied on school for sex education as depending on where you live, there can be a possibility that education is not given priority or even is considered a taboo to even talk about it. Parents need to ensure that the right information is given to their kids. Parents keeping silence about sex education can be dangerous as the child will eventually learn about it from its peers and over the internet. Parents are the core people who accompany the child as he/she grows up. They need continuous guidance and counselling.
Sex Education helps the kids understand their bodies and feel optimistic about the body. Many parents prepare their daughter for menstrual periods and son for his first nocturnal emission. But some don’t which later on instill a feeling of fear and distress in the mind of a teenager. Unexpected onset of blood immediately creates connectivity to a disease. Mothers need to change their wrong attitudes towards menstruation. Boys need to be taught something about menstruation too. This helps later when a man has to cope up with his wife’s pain, mood swings and premenstrual tension. Parents should be the first source of information to their child.
Pros and Cons of teaching boys and girls together
Here are some pros and cons of teaching boys and girls together:
Pros
- Having an open conversation with boys and girls together can eliminate the stigma and mystery of the topic.
- Boys and girls get to learn about each other and their experiences or issues discussed.
- Boys and girls learn to communicate on sensitive topics and know a lot about each other that will help if and when they want to develop intimate relationships in the future.
- Teaching them together creates a comfortable space between the genders.
- Boys and girls can learn from different perspectives when discussed in the class together.
Cons
- Parents may feel uncomfortable letting their daughters receive sex education along with boys.
- It becomes challenging for the experts to differentiate the instruction to meet the unique needs of boys and girls when taught together.
- Boys and girls may hesitate to ask questions about menstruation or nocturnal emission unless there is an open question box.
- The school authority needs to respond to the concern of the parents who are not in support of giving their kids coed sex education.
Rules to be followed
Sex education works best when there is mutual trust, comfort, and safety among themselves. Sex education should be taught according to the child’s age and development stage. Here are some ground rules that have to be followed:
- Asking questions indicate the desire to gain knowledge.
- Respect for each other.
- Correct use of body terms and activities.
- It is possible that the teacher may not know the answer to the questions.
- Students should not discuss information/situations of other students in the class.
- Gender equality should be taught and LGBTQ+ individuals should not be mentioned in a derogatory manner.
- Students should be given right and primitive information.
- Students are open to discuss any issue in the class related to Sexuality.
- If a student is not comfortable in answering a particular question then he/she is free to pass the specific question.
- Listen to what the teacher or the experts are saying. It may not be in use now but can be beneficial in the future.
- Always speak for yourself.
Current perspective
Looking at the current scenario of India, sex education has a far more distance to cover in terms of the Indian sociey understanding and accepting its importance in every child’s life. Sex education in most of the schools is still nowhere to be seen. Currently, many organizations have taken the initiative to personally approach the schools for teaching girls about menstruation and personal hygiene.
Boys are still left to collect knowledge from the streets and the internet. Majority of parents seem to shy around such topics and feel uncomfortable to even pronounce the name. They believe these things are natural and their child will come around as he/she ages. They refer to ignorance as an assurance but the time has changed, somehow children acquire inaccurate knowledge about sexuality. It is the responsibility of the parents and the teachers to make them socially and sexually aware.
Conclusion
Sex education should be compulsory in every school. Comprehensive sex education is important for young people to prepare themselves for any bodily changes and maintain their healthy and hygienic well being. Sex education doesn’t promote to have sex, which should be realized by the parents. Knowing about your sexuality gives altogether a better and productive mindset and relationship in the future.
References
- https://momblogsociety.com/3-reasons-to-support-sex-education/
Students of Lawsikho courses regularly produce writing assignments and work on practical exercises as a part of their coursework and develop themselves in real-life practical skills.
LawSikho has created a telegram group for exchanging legal knowledge, referrals, and various opportunities. You can click on this link and join:
Follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more amazing legal content.
