Introduction of sexuality education lessons in public elementary and high schools
1) identify the target population, 2) cite advantages and disadvantages (if any), and 3) do you see it being followed/implemented in your locality?
It is not new that a lot of people consider the Philippines as a conservative country. A lot of elderly from the baby boomers generation are still pushing the mindset of traditional concepts. Personally, a lot of my relatives still often say that “Dapat kasi mags-sex lang kapag nag-asawa na. Pangit kung hindi na virgin ang babae.” and a lot of other connotations related to those. However, they are bypassing the fact that it is normal for adolescents to have a rise in their libido, and we should promote safe sex instead of stigmatizing it, together with the concepts around it. With this, sex education should start around the age that women have their menarche, and should be discussed with all genders of that age. As they grow older, sex education could become more complex especially when they can understand concepts better. After all, sex education should not be a one time thing.
According to Joven (2021), the department of education started comprehensive sex education (CSE) in regions where there are the highest rate of teenage pregnancy, specifically regions 1, 7, and 11. Along with this, DepEd teachers had their training in CSE. However, they acknowledged that this is not enough. Sex education should also be implemented in health centers, and not in school alone. Moreover, sex education should be strictly implemented in schools, and not just something that is quickly mentioned in science lessons. Also, it should be quickly implemented in all regions all over the country. If possible, not only public schools should have this, but also private schools.
The implementation of sex education has significantly more advantages than disadvantages, if ever there are any. These include delayed sexual initiation, reduced risk-taking, increased use of contraception, and improved attitudes related to sexual and reproductive health, out of many (Comprehensive Sexuality Education Protects Children and Helps Build a Safer, Inclusive Society, 2020). This allows every individual to take better care of their body and to take autonomy on them, and ofcourse, ensure that they are safe. Sexual education, after all, is not all about preventing oneself to get pregnant, but also to help the target audience in avoiding the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases.
Personally, I think that sexual education is being implemented in the LGUs, especially that they offer free contraceptive services (such as IUDs, contraceptive pills, and contraception implants). However, the enforcement of these is not that strong. There are still people that do not know of these services, and some are not familiar with the different types of contraception. Moreover, in my personal experience, coming from a public science high school, there is no concrete sex education when I was in high school, which somehow shows that there really is a lack of sex education in the country.
Overall, everybody deserves proper sex education, and that nobody is “too old” or “too young” for it. Sex education actually protects us from sexual abuse when we know our body well. It should be something that we put attention to and strengthen in our education curriculum so we can avoid unwanted pregnancies and the spread of STDs.
References
Comprehensive sexuality education protects children and helps build a safer, inclusive society. (2020, July 21). The Council of Europe. Retrieved September 4, 2022, from https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/comprehensive-sexuality-education-protects-children-and-helps-build-a-safer-inclusive-society
Joven, J. (2021, November 5). Do we actually have sex ed in Philippine schools? CNN Philippines. https://www.cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/Education/2021/11/5/sex-education-philippine-schools.html