I always look at adolescence as a swim or sink stage
in every human being’s life albeit most parents and guardians do not want to
acknowledge this fact. It is quite a trying period when one tries to experiment
with almost everything be it sex, drugs, alcohol and what have you. This is a
stage whereby many people lose their visions and live a life full of regret
just because of the mistake(s) they made when they were adolescents.
One of the most hazardous experiments is conducted
with sex and there is no other way we can explain what befalls an inexperienced
driver who drives so fast along a busy and winding street – When something
happens, we always say; he /she was naïve and careless. But the question is;
after you had observed the naivety and carelessness, what did you do to help?
The society is not supposed to sit down and watch promising young lives getting
destroyed because they lacked information.
A good choice is made as a result of prior information
one has before making a decision to choose something. If young people are to
abstain from sex, they certainly need to be provided with comprehensive
information concerning the advantages of making such a choice. Comprehensive
information should also be given to those who fail to abstain in order to
safeguard them from blindly falling into a ditch. These are some of the
reasons why I always advocate for age-appropriate sexuality education and I
strongly feel that all young people should also demand this from established
sources. Young people should always remember that preparing for one’s
future is analogous to preparing for examination; you really need to be
knowledgeable for you to pass. Knowledge comes as a direct result of learning
appropriate things and being exposed to the right materials.
A wise young person is supposed to know when to do
what and how. Sometimes, young people trust their peers and other
self-appointed sex and sexuality experts. The media is awash with stories of
adolescent girls who are impregnated by witch doctors and some unscrupulous
pastors whose tricks could be easily avoided only if the girls are aware of how
their bodies operate. The pseudo witchdoctors and pastors fabricate prophecies
and visions which they use to trick the unsuspecting young girls into sleeping
with them. Furhermore, the world will debate less or not have any problem
concerning the issue of termination of pregnancies among young people, be it
safe or unsafe abortion.
However, parents and guardians believe and also make
young people feel that Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is a problem
instead of looking at it as part of the solution to sexual and reproductive
health problems which young people face every day. Parents and guardians do not
allow their adolescent children to attend CSE simply because of some
predominant myths and misconceptions surrounding CSE as stated and demystified
below.
- Comprehensive Sexuality Education is a sin
against God. The belief that CSE is a sin has led to a number of
challenges whereby people have grown up without properly knowing their
bodies. Neither does CSE use vulgar language nor does it intend to destroy
or encourage immorality.
- Comprehensive Sexuality Education turns young
people into sex maniacs. This misconception is also misleading and a total
distortion of the truth. CSE aims at delaying the first sexual encounter
among young people and simply offers some alternatives when the youth have
failed to abstain from sex. In my opinion, a youth with full knowledge of
his or her sexuality is more likely to abstain from sex than those who are
not.
- Comprehensive Sexuality Education teaches taboo
subjects to small children. There is always a consideration of age and CSE
always imparts young people with age-appropriate sexuality information.
Thus, with this in mind, the information given to the adolescents cannot
be off-limits.
- Promoting the use of condoms and contraceptives
encourages young people to tryout. It may be hard to believe but it is
true that there are some young people out there who are sexually active
and it is hard and inconceivable to tacitly allow them to have unprotected
casual sex. Furthermore, CSE promotes ABC and one study that was conducted
in 1997 also indicated that the promotion and distribution of condoms
to adolescents does not increase rates of sexual activity, but
significantly increases condom use among those adolescents who are
sexually active (Guttmacher et al., 1997; Schuster, Bell).
We really need to work-out our fears and look at
things the way they are. Young people’s HIV and STI prevalence rates are
already high, early pregnancies have also led to a number of heartrending
consequences among many young people. The myths and misconceptions we hold and
protect are the main barriers that have stood on path to young people’s social
and economic development.
