Sex education to grade seven students in Papua New Guinea, yes or no?
- Author:
M. Bouten
- Publication Type:Review
- MeSH:
Adolescent;
Child;
Cultural Characteristics;
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice;
Male;
Papua New Guinea;
Sex Education - methods
- From:
Papua New Guinea medical journal
1996;39(3):225-227
- CountryPapua New Guinea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
PIP: This paper discusses the provision of sex education to grade 7 students in Papua New Guinea. Since officials in both the government and the Church are still hesitant on the question of including sex education in the curriculum, the author cites the reasons why there is a need to provide factual information about sexuality, STDs, and AIDS to everyone. Among the reminders given to decision-makers are the following: 1) nobody has ever become pregnant or become infected with an STD due to knowledge; 2) preventing people from gaining knowledge is a violation of their basic human rights; 3) there is no evidence to show that sexual knowledge itself leads to sexual experimentation, but there is much evidence that ignorance in this area leads to problems (e.g., abuse by peers, vulnerability to STDs, and pregnancy); 4) young people need to grow up and gain self-confidence; 5) true religion does not withhold knowledge. In the last part of this paper, some methods and practical advice on providing sex education are discussed.
