Seeing as children and young individuals have the right to receive comprehensive and science-based information about sexuality, Sexuality Education was developed to strengthen their ability to make conscious, healthy, and respectful choices regarding sexuality as well as their emotional and physical health (WHO, 2016).
We live in a very conservative country that has been dominated by religious faith for a long time, and that fact alone has impacted the quality of sexual education being delivered to the youth population. Many believe that giving children and adolescents access to sexual education gives them the freedom to be sexually active resulting in a rise in sexual relations. The Catholic church believes that it should be the parents that teach their children regarding this matter, and it has been the case for many years but the incidence rates of teenage pregnancy (47 births annually per 1000 women aged 15-19) and, STDs (out of the 2,818 cases, 129 were 10-19-year-olds) say otherwise.
The Department of Education (DepEd) had emphasized otherwise, saying that the integration of sexuality education in public elementary and high schools is essential in lowering the incidence of teenage pregnancy, population growth, and sexual diseases, as well as in promoting reduced sexual activity, safe sex, and consent; these benefits were demonstrated not only within the country but internationally as well (PNA, 2019; Kokemuller, 2018; UNESCO 2018). With comprehensive sexuality education that is taught by trained and well-informed teachers, sex education can not only help in preventing teenage pregnancies and the spread of STDs, but help prevent exploitation, abuse, and violence related to sexuality as well as gender.
Commissioner for Human Rights. (2020, July 21). Comprehensive sexuality education protects children and helps build a safer, inclusive society. Council of Europe. https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/comprehensive-sexuality-education-protects-children-and-helps-build-a-safer-inclusive-society
Kokemuller, N. (2018, June 21). Positive impact of sex education. Classroom. https://classroom.synonym.com/positive-impact-sex-education-3959.html
Montemayor, M.T. (2019, April 4). Integrating sex education in schools to empower learners. Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1066447
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2018). The evidence base for comprehensive sexuality education. International technical guidance on sexuality education. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000260770&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_d8d4de18-19d0-4a35-8eb2-ab5eaa5ca5d3%3F_%3D260770eng.pdf&updateUrl=updateUrl4466&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000260770/PDF/260770eng.pdf.multi&fullScreen=true&locale=fr#%5B%7B%22num%22%3A115%2C%22gen%22%3A0%7D%2C%7B%22name%22%3A%22XYZ%22%7D%2C0%2C842%2C0%5D
World Health Organization (2016). Sexuality Education. euro.who.int. https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/379043/Sexuality_education_Policy_brief_No_1.pdf