Dutch report says sex education should start young
September 29th 2005, 12:34 Jeff Sela
A report (summarised in the BMJ) by two Dutch sexual health organisations has called for sex education in primary schools. They've found that (surprise!) sex education actually helps reduce sexual problems, such as unwanted pregnancies and the spread of STDs.
As well as a few specific ethnic groups, the study showed that particularly vulnerable children were
…Christian youth with strong religious convictions, who were less likely to use contraception during their first sexual intercourse; and less well educated teenagers who were more likely to have sexual intercourse and unwanted pregnancies.
No surprise there, but it's important to keep pointing these obvious problems out while the religious right is still demanding (and in America, getting) a system of ‘abstinence-only education’. Yes, if you tell kids not to have sex, they often will anyway. If you actually educate them then they're more likely to wait until they're older before trying it, and to be more sensible about it when they do.
The researchers found that “help and affection” from parents was important, but of course we all know parents aren't always willing or able to provide those. So the report suggests that more is done by schools, particularly early on, before children start trying to figure things out by themselves. According to the BMJ:
The study shows that schools are the most important and reliable source of information, with more than 90% of teenagers receiving information there. But the researchers stress too the importance of the family environment by looking at the correlation between sexual behaviour and a variety of psychosocial factors. Young people who received affection, help, and support from parents at home had less experience of sexual intercourse and anal sex, were more competent at negotiating with sexual partners, used contraception better, and were less likely to be forced into sex.
