Under the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Law, the Department of Education (DepEd) is mandated to design a curriculum that incorporates sexuality education for learners in their adolescent stage, specifically ages 10 to 19. This led to the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) Goal that aims to teach “life skills among learners to help them develop critical thinking in relation to risky behaviors related to poor reproductive health outcomes, enhance self-esteem and develop respectful intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships that enable them to deal with the complex changes happening in them throughout their lives.”
Indeed, the lack of sex education in the country has led to several preventable health crises. For instance, the Philippines is considered the country with the fastest increase in the rate of HIV cases in the Asia and Pacific region. Maternal mortality ratio is high, where about 1,000 deaths are a result of unsafe abortion. Both of these are evidence of the health literacy crisis in the country. Including sexuality as a part of the educational curriculum will address this crisis in that it will promote medically-accurate information on reproductive health that will aid in making healthful choices throughout life.
This truly is a healthy public policy that promotes the health of Filipinos, and it has no harmful effects. There are, however, barriers in implementing this. The lack of trained educators that can deliver the information properly as well as the disagreement of the Catholic church are but some of the problems as to why it cannot be fully implemented.
At the present, it is yet to be implemented in the schools in my town. The cases of unwanted pregnancies are rampant, especially in the far-flung areas. There is a lack of midwives and other healthcare professionals. Reproductive health issues persist and sex education is definitely a part of the solution.
References:
Department of Health. (2020). A Briefer on the Philippines HIV Estimates. https://doh.gov.ph/sites/default/files/publications/A%20Briefer%20on%20the%20PH%20Estimates%202020_08232021.pdf
Finer, L., Hussain, R. (2013, August). Unintended Pregnancy and Unsafe Abortion in the Philippines: Context and Consequences. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/unintended-pregnancy-and-unsafe-abortion-philippines-context-and-consequences#:~:text=Unsafe%20abortion%20carries%20significant%20risks,for%20complications%20from%20unsafe%20abortion.
Department of Health. Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education. https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/DO_s2018_031-1.pdf