AWARE’s Comprehensive Sex Ed Programme

Please see latest (7 May o9) post “AWARE’s Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) : Re Homosexuality, anal sex, pre-marital sex“

 

 http://mathialee.wordpress.com/2009/05/06/awares-comprehensive-sexuality-education-cse-re-homosexuality/

 

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Here’s AWARE’s letter in response to the Sunday Times teenage sex article that ST did not publish:

[Correction: Sunday Times published it on today's edition of Sunday Times(21 Dec 08). Ommited lines are marked in bold here ]

      It is with great empathy that we at AWARE have read your special report” the young and sex”, dated Dec.14, 2008.  When an incident such as this one, of the pre-teen girl who invited a 16-year-old boy to have sexual intercourse, hits nearer home, we begin to question why. Instead of looking for a scapegoat and where to place blame, AWARE believes that educating the youth about sex, sexuality and self esteem issues related to Body Image, must be a significant component of every child’s education. To this end, AWARE has introduced Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) workshops for teens and for teachers in schools.  Sexual curiosity is the result of a natural biological hormonal response in the young and technology in their hands has merely enabled them to become more public and explicit.  How can we deal with this? Through education and open communication alone.  Some answers to your question: “Why are they starting so young” may be:

1.    Some teens engage in sexual activity to feel a sense of self-worth and love. Solution: help teens build a sense of self-worth through healthy means.  Our CSE program discusses the effects of basing our self-esteem on sex. Our Body Image program discusses how our self-worth allows us to stay healthy and safe, and explores the false assumptions and the unhealthy ways of achieving self-worth.

2.    Some teens engage in sexual activity out of a sense of curiosity.            Solution: short of monitoring teens 24/7, what we need is to equip them with accurate, responsible and complete information to make wise choices, and to make healthy choices about sex. Our CSE program has been proven to do that. We educate youth on the consequences of each choice. Our CSE teaches them to stay healthy and responsible, should they choose to engage. It also teaches them condom usage, as user ignorance is the biggest reason for failure. 

3.    Some teens engage in sexual activity because they don’t know how to communicate and negotiate for alternatives. Solution: equip and empower them with the skills to say “NO”. Our CSE does that.

Prosecution might be a deterrent for malicious adult sex predators, not teens. Education is what the young need. Fear of prosecution only prevents youth from seeking advice and information from reliable authorities, or seeking help when pregnancy / Sexually transmitted infections (STI) occur. We hear of DIY abortions done by under-14s to prevent their boyfriends from being jailed, hence endangering their own lives. 

Lack of open communication about sex from adults, be they parents or teachers drives children to rely on peers or media/internet for information, which may often be less than reliable.

Sex education needs to go beyond preaching abstinence as the only form of sex education.  This is not the reality as statistics show.  Education should provide life – long skills. Being comfortable with ones sexuality and practicing safe sex needs to be taught to teens so that it is bridged into adulthood as well.    

We believe that we should tackle this issue at the prevention stage – by empowering teens and adults to NOT get into a situation where they have to consider abortion, adoption, single parenthood etc. It does not help to criticize the young after they have had abortions, kept their child or developed AIDS.

AWARE will further its education program, by conducting talks and workshops for teachers on how to design programs and conduct Comprehensive Sex Education. We are looking to bring these talks to parents as well.

Dr..Roopa Dewan Public education; Mathia Lee- CSE AWARE;