Asian Sexuality Education: requires a supportive system
Some youngsters obtain sufficient homework concerning their sexual lives. Which makes them coerce, abuse and exploitation, unplanned pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections (STI), such as HIV. Many youngsters reach elders faced with contradictory and complicated facts of sexuality and gender. Usually, this increases by embarrassment, silence, and objection to the open discussion regarding sexuality topics by grown-ups, including their parents and teachers, each time when it is necessary. Youngsters are growing sexually mature and active at an early age; later getting married, so the time extends from sexuality debut to marriage.
“sexuality education aims to provide knowledge, skills to children and youngsters, and valuing to make efficient decisions of their sexuality and social relationships, along with promoting and nourishing risk-reducing behavior.”
Most importantly "Homosexuality" will be precisely discussed by sexuality education. Daily, many of us getting connected with homosexuals. Some are forced to deal with them at workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, etc. Homosexuality is failed to be understood, which can be quickly endorsed by youngsters who quickly underestimate it. Enlightening them about heterosexuality and homosexuality may protect them from falling prey to lurking homosexuals under society’s shades.
Social-cultural standards encircling the analysis of sex are very common barriers to school-based sexuality education and youngsters' access to information about STI; many researchers have examined the ways conventional social-cultural standards contribute notable obstacles to efficient school-based sexuality education in Asia especially.
Elders believing that discussing/talking about sex with youngsters/children may encourage them to engage in sexual activities cause another level of resistance, however, studies affirm, qualified sexuality education delays sexuality debuting age and decreases sexuality risk behaviors.
More specifically, there is always a reluctance to provide sexual information to young women in a school context because adulthood believes that the pre-marital activity of women was forbidden than of men.
Believes in religion and political aspects greatly influence many Asian countries in this matter, thereby controlling analysis and studies regarding sex in schools and broader social circumstances.
Traditional view guiding that women must be humble, pure and must abstain from communicating information regarding sex before marriage offers comparable restrictions on STI and sexuality education.
Absence of a supportive system
A supportive system is necessary for efficient implementation, however, what creates allowing circumstances may differ from setting to setting, based on national laws, policies, and implementing methods. The policy reveals the government's position about sexuality education. Policies require to be distributed to each implementing body and stakeholders and formal devices are built to supervise implementation. More of high significance are comprehensive approaches to implement policy all through the school system, supported by sufficient economic resources.
Usually, education policies and laws did less inclined to incorporate content about sexuality education than concerning population, reproductive health, or HIV. Such denotes a progressive reduction concerning ownership by the education sector and seems to encourage the notion that considering HIV as a health sector issue hinders the education response to the disease in several countries, with education ministries delayed to form relevant policies.
In 2012, UNESCO attempted to outline some laws, policies, and sexuality education strategies in the Asia-Pacific region. But, this observed a noteworthy difference between countries. In that period, 20 countries held domestic HIV laws and policies, and 13 of them refer to the function of education expressly. Nevertheless, solely Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam provided a comprehensive classification regarding sexuality education in their policy frameworks; they had special education division policies about HIV.
In 2009, International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education was published by UNESCO mainly as a reaction to HIV. Although HIV prevention is necessary, evidence and practice show, sexuality education holding wider importance not only to sexual and reproductive health but also to their overall well-being and self-improvement.
This guidance offers sexuality with a certain attitude, knowing that it is something apart from lessons of reproduction, risks, and disease. This acknowledges sexuality education status inside the core of human rights and gender equality. Also, this indicates the enrichment concerning sexuality education to the achievement of the many internationally recognized commitments to sexual and reproductive health, and to achieving the goals of health and well-being, quality and all-inclusive education, gender equality, and women empowerment by 2030.
The program reports and implementing approaches are invariably identified concerning all laws and policies in Sri Lankan education, gender equality and women empowerment, health and population, STD, and teen concerns. But presently, there are various modalities are in the position to implement sexuality education. To improve the youngsters' awareness concerning the sexual and reproductive system, the Health Ministry and National Institute of Education launched the Reproductive Health Education program.
Also, the Family Health Bureau began a School Health Promotion Programme including a segment about Sexual and Reproductive Health. Counseling services are providing by the National Youth Services Council as well. However, the Gender Unit of the Family Health Bureau counseling and information services are now enabled to both married couples or cohabitees. Sri Lanka’s Policy Framework and National Plan of Action aims to focus on Sexual and Gender-based Violence recognizes education and establishing awareness while main precautionary steps to address such violence.
Hence, the national policies need to be implemented in a local reality setting, including the political and social-culture standards. Following the influence from advocacy and external agencies' aids and community partners, policies regarding school-based sexuality education may be inclusive and encouraging at the national level, however, may hold an inadequate influence at schools when defied with standards preventing an open discussion regarding sex. Inadequately formed policies may point to insufficient certainty regarding stakeholder accountabilities to implement school-level STI education.
REFERENCES:
Barriers to HIV and sexuality education in Asia, Health Education, 114 (2). pp. 118-132. ISSN 0965-4283.
Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in Asia: A Regional Brief (2018), ISBN 978-967-0339-42-9.
International Guidelines on Sexuality Education: An evidence-informed approach to effective sex, relationships, and HIV/STI education, UNESCO (2009), Division for the Coordination of UN Priorities in Education.
Sexuality education in Asia: Are we delivering? An assessment from a rights-based perspective, by David Clarke (October 2010).
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