Sex Education In Traditional Societies Essay Research

Sex Education In Traditional Societies Essay, Research Paper

INTRODUCTION

This paper discusses sex education in traditional societies, rumors surrounding the topic, the results from different techniques and the different views of each. Five countries were chosen for this analysis and were chosen based on their economy, culture, and availability of information. The countries are the United States, England, Canada, the Netherlands, and Sweden. It is measured by the rate of teen pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in teens.

DISCUSSION

Sex education deals with all aspects of human sexuality. It is often used when talking about educating young people. It covers topics such as reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), contraceptives, relationships, behavior patterns, cultural issues, and gender issues. Sex education can be taught in many ways. Children learn about sex from their peers, their parents, schools, and sometimes church. Television has a large impact on children in developed countries, especially in the United States.

There are varied opinions on the topic of sex education. Many people feel that educating teens on contraceptives makes them more likely to have premarital sex, but despite this “nine out of ten parents want their children to receive it.” (Haffner and Sowell, 1993:426) Some opinions are for sex education while some are against it. A recent change is that many groups who were against sex education have moved toward a very conservative program supporting abstinence.

England

England is trying to drastically cut their rate of teen pregnancy. By the year 2000, England wants its pregnancy rate for teens 13 to 15 to be down to 4.7 per 1,000 girls from its rate of 9.5 in 1989. Their plan was to increase the number of family planning clinics for young people and to increase the sex education program in schools. The annual report showed a drop from 10.1 to 9.3 between 1990 and 1991. This is the lowest rate in the 10 previous years. Extra services and education seemed to be the major cause of this success. (Malcolm, 1994:1149)

Even with this decrease, the important second part falling apart. Proper sex education in schools is having major opposition by moralists who believe that more sex education leads to more sex. In 1991 and 1992 the Education Secretary removed contraception, abortion, and AIDS/HIV from the secondary school science curriculum and gave parents the right to remove their children from the program without penalty. Even worse, he proposed that the children must be separated by categories of awareness so “the innocent remain innocent.” (Malcolm, 1994:1149)

A second setback on England’s health campaign has been the sex-obsessed media and tabloids. It took the tabloids less than two months to stop the printing of a health pamphlet on sex education directed at 16 to 25 year olds by calling it “smutty.” Some of the education ministers believe more education leads to more sex. On the contrary, a National Survey of Sexual Attitudes found that not only did the education improve protection it also delayed the age which people experienced their first sexual experience. (Malcolm, 1994:1149)

A study of 19,000 men and women aged 16 to 59, showed that sex education programs did delay the onset of sexual activity and also increased the use of the condom during first intercourse. In addition Douglas Kirby, director of research for ETR Associates, pointed out that earlier studies showed that school programs did not hasten the onset of sex or increase its frequency. In fact, some programs may delay both. Kirby wrote: “There is not enough direct evidence to determine whether any of these education programs significantly decreases rates of pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, or HIV infection. If some do delay the onset of intercourse, reduce the number of sexual partners, or increase the use of protection, then logically they should also have an effect on these endpoints. What this study does show is that, while not all sex and AIDS education programs work, some do. If effective programs were implemented more broadly, they could have a modest, but significant, impact on reducing sexual risk-taking behavior.” (Health Facts, 1995:p6)

Sweden

Sweden is very open about its sex education programs. Since mandating it in 1956, sex education is part of every school. From 1975 to 1985, the U.S.’s rate of birth control rose 43 percent, while it fell 30 percent in Sweden. Education there obviously is a major cause. Sexual activity is initiated much earlier than in other countries. By 16 one-third of girls have experienced sexual intercourse, yet the pregnancy rate is much lower that the other countries except for the Netherlands. (Jones et al., 1985)

Even in Sweden where attitudes about sex are very open, young people wish to keep their sex lives personal and private. Swedish clinics are forbidden to inform parents of adolescents request for birth control. Contraceptives are offered free of charge to all patients.(Jones et al., 1985)

Canada

Canada has the latest first sexual experience of all the countries. At the ages of 16 to 17, only one out of five girls is sexually active. Canada’s clinical system is sparse and not as private as in Sweden. Many of the doctor’s require parent consent before prescribing contraceptiv