This post covers Sex Education in schools, Teenagers Sex Education, benefits of sexual education among adolescents, types of sex education, the importance and some challenges to sex education in Nigeria.
It is said “teach then what is right as it is safe or else, another will teach them what they know”
What is Sex or Sexual Education?
Sexuality education aims to develop and strengthen the ability of children and young people to make conscious, satisfying, healthy and respectful choices regarding relationships, sexuality and emotional and physical health.
It helps people gain the information and skills they need to make the best decisions for themselves about sex and relationships. Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest provider of sex education, reaching 1.2 million people a year through education and outreach.
Read: Education For Sustainable Development in Nigeria
Sex Ed may be provided by parents or caregivers or as part at school programs and public health campaigns. In some countries it is known as Relationships and Sexual health education.
What do you learn during sex education?
When done right, transforms lives, communities, and society at large. Sex education should be taught by trained educators and cover a wide range of topics, including relationships, decision making, communication, gender identity, body image, birth control, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Facts About Sex Ed
Sex education is high quality teaching and learning about a broad variety of topics related to sex and sexuality. It explores values and beliefs about those topics and helps people gain the skills that are needed to navigate relationships with self, partners, and community, and manage one’s own sexual health. Sex education may take place in schools, at home, in community settings, or online.
Sex Education Topics for K-12 programs should cover:
Human development: including puberty, anatomy, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Relationships: including self, family, friendships, romantic relationships, and health care providers.
Society and culture: including media literacy, shame and stigma, and how power, identity, and oppression impact sexual wellness and reproductive freedom.
Personal skills: including communication, boundary setting, negotiation, and decision-making.
Sexual health: including sexually transmitted infections, birth control, pregnancy, and abortion
What Are the Goals?
Sex education is designed to help young people gain the information and skills they need to make the best decisions for themselves about sex and relationships throughout their lives.
Does Sex Education Work?
Sex Ed gives young people the knowledge and skills they need for a lifetime of good sexual health. They learn how to have healthy relationships, make informed decisions about sex, think critically about the world, be a good ally to those who are marginalized, and love themselves for who they are.
Research shows that sex education that’s culturally responsive and inclusive helps young people develop the social and emotional skills they need to become caring and empathetic adults. This type of sex education early and often leads to appreciation of sexual diversity, dating and intimate partner violence prevention, development of healthy relationships, prevention of child sex abuse, improved social/emotional learning, and increased media literacy. It also helps young people avoid unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Sex Education Works Best When It’s:
- Taught by trained professionals
- Taught early and often throughout the lifespan
- Includes both information and skill-building activities
- Evidence-informed
- Rooted in anti-racism practices
- Trauma-informed
- Adapted to the needs of the community
The Importance for Teens
Sex ED to adolescents is as important as teaching the other topic in life. Below are some of importance to teenagers.
- It helps to increase abstinence until they get older.
Abstinence means not having sex for a long time until the marriage. Sex education motivates teenagers not to have sex at an early age. Early age sex can cause many complications.
- It also helps to build their boundaries against sexual activities.
Sex education to teenagers helps to recognize the difference between right or wrong.
- Using condoms & contraception while having sex.
It also includes complete knowledge about the use of contraception while having sex. It promotes which contraception is best to use for teenagers for the ones you could not abstained.
- It also keeps youngsters safe from sexual abuse or sexual violence.
Sex Education gives enough knowledge about sexual behavior to keep teens away from sexual abuse or sexual violence.
- It also reduces the number of sexual partners & to understand consent
The education motivates teens to take good & desired decisions about their sexual partners & also helps to understand all about consent.
- Reducing the young age pregnancy rates & transfer of STIs.
Nowadays, the young age pregnancy rates have been increasing. If we impart sex education in teen’s curriculum it will reduce the young age pregnancy rates. Sex ed encourages the use of condoms before having sex that helps to avoid unintended pregnancies & the transfer of STIs.
Reasons Why Sex Ed Is Not Promoted In Nigeria
Everyone deserves quality sex education but only a few teenagers get the same. This important education to teenagers has been hindered because of socio-cultural diversity, religious believes and other political issues. If someone tries to teach about it, people take it in an undesirable way because of diversities in culture & thoughts. But soon the things will change and there will be some way to teach such things healthily.
In conclusion:
Research has shown that poor sex education by sexuality educators are the major reason why the tragedy of HIV/AIDS, unwanted teenage pregnancy, and unsafe induced abortion continues to have the highest number of victims among young people from the African continent.
Adolescents in Nigeria rarely use contraception (Abogunrin, 2003), they are less likely than adults to use condoms or other means of protection on a regular basis, which might lower their risks of infection (Adegoke, 2003). It is common in many Nigerian communities to prevent teenagers from getting sexual education since it is wrongly believed that ignorance will foster abstinence, despite the prevalence of unprotected sexual activity and the devastating consequences is becoming too obvious (Onwuezobe & Ekanem, 2009).
Many teenagers are uncomfortable discussing matters about their sexual feelings with their parents or other family members. As a result, they require a place where they can get reliable information and/or express their thoughts. Providing a safe space and environment for teenager is very important.