Answers to some commonly asked questions about sex education.

Why adults want sex education in schools?

In a KS Survey of 5213 adults in Indian cities

1.) 53% claim to have had pre-marital sex and half of them before they were 21yrs old.
2.) About 60% of these have indulged in pre-marital sex with more than one individual.
3.) 25% feel that pre-marital sex is due to lack of sex education.
4.) About 84% have obtained information through self reading or friends & only 3% through professional help.
5.) 80% of the population feels sex education should be imparted in schools.

Why do children want sex education in schools?

Enfold collected subjective feedback from 422 students of 7th , 8th and 9th grade (13 – 15 years age group) of a coeducational English medium school in Bangalore city. 83% felt that sex education is required in schools. Students were asked to give reasons for their answers. These were:

Sessions in Human Sexuality are required because:

1. It provides information not otherwise available,
2. We can’t ask parents or teachers,
3. Useful for the future,
4. Prevents spread of HIV,
5.To counter the effect of television,
6. Right time to learn is now,
7.Develops maturity,
8. Got to know before we go out into the world,
9. Brings awareness,
10. For guidance
11. It is a part of life,
12. To know the facts of life,
13. To learn how not to make mistakes,
14. To learn about sex, when to become sexually active,
15. Helps teenagers in various ways,
16.Clears doubts,
17. Builds confidence,
18. It is the only way to learn certain things,
19. In today’s world everyone has a girlfriend or boy friend – teaches how to stay out of trouble,
20. Provides peace.
21. Because we are growing up.
22. To satisfy my curious mind,
23. To know what will happen to us when we grow up,
24. Because we are old enough to know about sex, and won’t get into problems,
25. Required in a coeducational school,
26. There are porn sites which give wrong ideas,
27. Leant why we should not watch porn,
28. Due to modern Indian children mixing with western culture,
29. To help mothers during menstruation, boys should be aware,
30. Better understanding among sexes,
31. Lays the foundation regarding sex,
32. To clear wrong impressions.

Does sex education lead to sexual experimentation?

Research of 1,050 scientific articles on sex education programmes found “no support for the contention that sex education encourages sexual experimentation or increased activity. If any effect is observed, almost without exception, it is in the direction of postponed initiation of sexual intercourse and/or effective use of contraception.”

A survey of 35 sex education projects conducted by the World Health Organisation found that sex education in schools did not encourage young people to have sex at an earlier age or more frequently. Early sex education delays the start of sexual activity, reduces sexual activity among young people an encourages those already sexually active to have safer sex. Enfold found a similar sentiment expressed by over 400 high school students surveyed after a course on human sexuality had been conducted for them.

The report called Effects of Sex Education on Young People’s Sexual Behavior says : Failure to provide appropriate and timely information “misses the opportunity of reducing the unwanted outcomes of unintended pregnancy and transmission of STDs, and is, therefore, in the disservice of our youth,”
This report was commissioned by the Youth and General Public Unit, Office of Intervention and Development and Support, Global Program on AIDS, and the WHO.

Does our program bring about behavioural change in students?

Response from students:
Six months after the completion of the sessions in the first year, we obtained subjective feedback from 422 students of 7th 8th and 9th standards (13 – 15 years age group) of a coeducational English medium school in Bangalore city.

Examples for “Changes in your attitude/ behavior”
‘learnt how to deal with people who abuse me’, ‘what to say if someone touches me’
‘how to communicate with father and mother’, ‘I am more confident, independent, disciplined’ ‘I learnt to control my temper’, ‘I am more responsible at home, when mom falls sick’
‘Earlier I ate only junk foods, now I eat healthy foods’ ‘when I get less marks, I know what to do –it changed my attitude’, ‘I realized that brothers do not get away with every thing’, ‘I fight less with my sister’, ‘I am kind and gentle with younger siblings’, ‘I was calmed’, ‘Less stress during studies’, ‘I know how to be safe’, ‘I can concentrate better at studies’, “I am taking care of myself’.

Examples for “Changes in your attitude towards the opposite sex ”
‘Changed my attitude to sex – from bad to normal’, ‘Boys and girls are the same’, ‘should not behave badly with girls’, ‘ stopped teasing girls’, ‘not to go out alone with boys’ ‘learnt to be cautio
us while mixing with boys’ ‘to be within limits’ ‘started liking them’ ‘earlier I thought girls were dirty during periods. Now I am gentle with them and I stopped teasing them’ ‘I can speak freely with them’ ‘I stopped saying fuck’ ‘I am no longer shy of them’, ‘I thought sex was a curse, now I think it is normal’, ‘I stopped chasing girls. I learnt to control my instincts’, ‘I became more careful, at the same time more free..’, ‘I know much more about them. It removed bad thoughts from my mind’, ‘no misunderstanding’, ‘cooperative, friendly, less rude’, ‘learnt that boys too are emotional’, ‘learnt to maintain friendship clearly’