Sexuality education protects children from diseases – UNESCO

Children and young people should receive comprehensive sexuality education before they become sexually active, UNESCO has said The UN agency said in a statement that sexuality education helps kids protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and promotes values of tolerance, mutual respect and non-violence in relationships. The statement said that […]

Children and young people should receive comprehensive sexuality education before they become sexually active, UNESCO has said

The UN agency said in a statement that sexuality education helps kids protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and promotes values of tolerance, mutual respect and non-violence in relationships.

The statement said that ‘Facing the Facts,’ a new policy paper by the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report at UNESCO which seeks to dispel social and political resistance to sexuality education in many countries suggests that “comprehensive sexuality education is an essential part of a good quality education that improves reproductive health and contributes to gender equality.”

Globally, each year, 15 million girls marry before the age of 18, some 16 million 15-19 year olds and one million girls under 15 give birth. Young people moreover account for a third of new HIV infections among adults and across 37 low and middle-income countries, yet only approximately one third of people aged 15-24 years have comprehensive knowledge of HIV prevention and transmission.

“It’s time to face the facts,” argues Director of the GEM Report, Manos Antoninis, “More than one in ten births are among girls between 15 and 19 years old. This not only spells the end of their education, but is often fatal, with pregnancy and childbirth the leading cause of death among this age group.”

The new policy paper presents the evidence of the benefits of age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education. Even children at the age of five need to understand basic facts about their body, think about family and social relationships and recognize inappropriate behaviour and identify abuse.

Introducing comprehensive sexuality education in the curriculum is insufficient without adequate teacher training to bolster instructors’ motivation and confidence in addressing the full range of topics concerned.

The paper recommends that countries should “invest in teacher education and support, make curricula relevant and evidence based, develop monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and ensure implementation, work with other sectors to bring about real change, notably with the health sector to link schools with health services and leverage funds and engage with community and parent organizations to overcome resistance that is not based on facts.”