Sex Education discussion on Highland Radio
December 17th, 2007The topic of Sex Education was raised today on Highland Radio, with the announcement that the regulations surrounding contraception in the UK may be changing to allow the supply of the pill “over the counter” in pharmacies.
The topic always draws out some very entrenched positions. On this occasion, Mary Doherty of the Christian Solidarity Party came on the line to criticise everything to do with the topic; I only heard the end of her contribution, but she almost managed to blame the media for forcing young people into underage sex, and thereby causing crisis pregnancies.
This drives me nuts. We have huge problems in Ireland with crisis and underage pregnancies, as indicated by the huge numbers of Irish women who travel to the UK for abortions every year * 1 . How do we respond? As a nation, we bury our heads in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist. As the saying goes, an Irish solution to an Irish problem. The debate around abortion continues every year (it was recently raised again in The Irish Times letters pages), but we never acknowledge how real the problem is.
Shaun Doherty Show, Dec 17 2007, Sex Education. 12min 54. Click to play:
The latest figures I’ve seen say over 5000 Irish women have abortions in the UK every year. I would believe that figure could be doubled, to take in all the other options women have, but even if it is true that’s nearly 100 women every single week. So what’s our response? We try to react, and not to prevent.
Some members of Donegal Youth Council have been raising the issue recently; these courageous young people have stepped up to say that the Sex education they are receiving falls well short of the mark. This was true when I was in Secondary School, and I have no reason to believe it has improved. Sex education was mentioned at most three times during my five years of Secondary School. I went to an all-boy school, but I am aware that the teaching in the all-girl secondary school was equally minimal.
It’s not just quantity, there are issues of quality as well. I know for a fact that some young people have been told things in Sex Ed classes that are demonstrably false, and taught in an attempt to scare young people rather than to educate.
Young people aren’t stupid. But they do need help; we can’t expect anyone to know something they’ve never been taught. But that’s what we expect for our young people. We need to end the stigma around Sex, to acknowledge that young people are having sex and that this has always been the case. Stop blaming the media, stop blaming TV, and address the problem. Teach young people, in schools, about contraception, about STIs, about pregnancies, about the full range of issues surrounding relationships and sex. Teach it from a physical, biological and an emotional perspective. Young people are making decisions about sex without knowing the facts; the least we can do is inform them.
When should this happen, and what should we teach? That’s for the education authorities* 2 . We should be looking objectively for international best-practice, and then taking it home. An often-quoted statistic is that Holland’s legislation is among the most liberal in the world, yet their abortion rates and teen pregnancy rates are among the lowest in the developed world. So that would be a good enough place to start.
As a nation, it’s time for us to acknowledge the problem as it really is, and to stop hiding behind embarrassment, dogma or ignorance.
*1… and the problem is much worse than the figures show; some clinics do not register the addresses, many people will give UK addresses, and cheaper travel means many people are travelling to other locations, such as Holland.
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*2 An issue arises with the delivery of a Sex Ed programme. Primarily, teachers aren’t trained in delivering these subjects, so may well not want to take part. One possible way around this is to have a corp of teachers who can provide sessions in schools on a touring basis. This class would not need to be run every week or every day, so could be handled on a rotational basis three or four times a year.
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3 Responses to “Sex Education discussion on Highland Radio”
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December 18th, 2007 at 1:21 am
Indeed it is the responsibility of schools, both primary and secondary to deliver the comprehensive and relevant curricular material that (right from the infant classroom setting) specifies the importance of Relationship and Sexuality Education. This material is already in place. Separating the effectiveness of teachers and the quality of material that is outlined in the curriculum is important. The material is available from which to develop schemes of work that will inform children and adolescents in a manner that is both meaningful and, with proper planning, pupil centred.
However, should the onus not be on parents , as a child’s first and most influential educators throughout their formative years, to inform their children on this matter? Is it not feasible to suggest that parents are happy to allow schools to take over their parental duties, much as they do for the Sacramental Education. It seems much too flippant and convenient to regard such crises as those pertaining to underage sexual activities as being an educational/teaching deficit. As with any element of teaching and learning within the school setting, if it is not reinforced within the home then it’s effect is limited.
December 18th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Laura,
My comments on radio were in response to a debate on the relevance/morality of Sex Education in schools, so my comments focussed on that.
I would fully accept that parents have an important role in this, indeed it is probably the most important part of all. Not being a parent myself, I don’t feel qualified to comment on that as much as the political/governmental response required.
On another level, we have become a society which blames Government (as in central authority, rather than any people or party) for most problems like this, so it seems appropriate to me that the Government should be working on solutions, rather than pretending the problem doesn’t exist. There have been some serious cop-outs on the RSE programmes, and this needs to stop.
Parenting is vital, in this as in every other issue of raising the next generation. I would hope that parents would be speaking to their kids, but that doesn’t always happen. As I said in the radio interview, a parent may feel awkward discussion sexual issues with their adolescent kids, but that is nothing compared to how awkward or uncomfortable it is for a child to tell a parent they are pregnant (or have an STI).
Another issue is that parents have never had a comprehensive education in these matters themselves! However bad the education system is at addressing these topics in 2007, they were much worse in the past. This is particularly regarding contraception and STIs.
I’m sure we’ll have this conversation at some stage over the Christmas period! Thanks for your comment.
Damien
February 29th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
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