An Analysis of Sexual Health in New Zealand Youth

Throughout recent years, addressing the subject of sexual and reproductive health among Australians has become paramount due to continuously emerging health concerns, particularly among adolescents and younger people.

While sexual education is mandatory in almost all secondary schools across Australia, the level of depth at which it is taught varies throughout every school. Many highly important areas of sex ed, such as learning about consent, contraceptive options and violence in relationships, are less commonly taught in high school, with puberty typically being the prime topic taught in PDHPE lessons instead. But when we look at the increase in things such as sexual assault, sexual violence, Sexually Transmitted Infections and teenage pregnancy among today’s youth, we must wonder why such imperative subjects to educate teenagers on are discussed so minimally.

Sexual education is a highly debatable topic, but many believe the information taught to students should be abstinence-only. Abstinence-only education has been put in place in order to educate students about the social, mental, and physical benefits of resisting from all sexual activity. It emphasizes the unsafe impacts of participating in sexual activity before marriage and having casual sex. It also promotes the idea that sexual abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Abstinence education only permits the discussion of contraception and condoms in terms of failure in order to utterly discourage casual sex (Wilgoren, 1). Along with teaching the physical dangers of sex, abstinence education also teaches the mental dangers of sex (Abstinence-Only Education, 1). Sex has many risks and dangers that are not

Did you know that 24 states in the US require their public schools to teach sex education and HIV education to their students (NCL.org)? Do they even need to understand sex or STDs? Well of course not. That’s why schools should not even teach these students sex because it’s just going to be too much for the high school students’ young mind, sex education will definitely motivate the students to have sex—regardless of their sexuality--, and it’s up to their not so busy parents to explain sex—and all its glory—to their children who are attending high school.

Studies have also shown that abstinence-focused programs have failed to reduce STI rates. The American Sexual Health Association states, “More than half of all people will have an STD/STI at some point in their lifetime,” (“Statistics”). Comprehensive sex education would teach teenagers how to improve their sexual health, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and prevent sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Providing students with this information does not encourage them to participate in sexual activity sooner. Several findings show that, “[Comprehensive sex education] effectively promotes abstinence and may delay sexual debut, reduce sexual frequency, reduce the number of sexual partners, reduce STI risk, and increase the likelihood of consistent contraceptive use,” (Jeffries 173). Comprehensive sex education will be beneficial to students by teaching them how to have sexual intercourse safely, if they choose to not remain abstinent.

This program health alert would help promote a lot of positive change, in the different communities at large, of course programs that will reduce young people's risk of infections, help prolong sexual contact, decrease the consistency of intimacy, decrease the amount of partners, and increase the use of protection (Hollander, 2012). It is a need for education about sex to be taught in every school. Health alert is working with the schools in the community at large to assure these programs are correctly implemented. Teens may receive some education about sex, diseases, and abstinence in some grades in school, but many students receive none. A lot of young people such as youth who are not in school receive almost none or not enough education.

We have all heard the stories about the rise in teenage pregnancies, girls dropping out of school to care for their newborns, and even those who get pregnant on purpose. This new trend is everywhere. Most parents fail to have the “talk” with their children and are left without the proper education regarding sex until its too late. With the current rates of teenage pregnancy correlated with the current rates of spreading epidemics of STD’s and HIV/AIDS, steps should be taken in an effort to aid the situation. Schools are a main source of information and education for teens, and are in a unique position that can provide adolescents with knowledgeable skills and understanding that promote sexual health. With consistent speculation surrounding

Other supporters think that sex education should not deviate from other teachings of other health curricula such as drunk driving, tobacco use, drug use, alcohol consumption, gun use, fighting; all things which are taught to just not do (Collins, Alagira, and Summers 12-13). They believe that it is the responsibility of a public institution which serves kids to teach them risk avoidance rather than harm reduction (“WebMD: Better Information. Better Health”).

Therefore, Australian adolescents are at serious risk as there are approximately 25% of young people reported sexually active by 15 years-old, with numbers increasing to 50% by Year 12; only 40% practice safe sex and use a condom (ACYS, 2014).Therefore, they are at greater risk of contracting STIs as a consequence of inexperience and lack of knowledge concerning risks with unprotected sex and access to contraception, social pressure, frequency of partner change, substance use and unwillingness to talk with parents or their general practitioner (DoHA, 2005). Hence, the success of lowering the prevalence of STIs among adolescents relies heavily on the knowledge about reproductive matters and access to and use of effective

One in four teens are diagnosed with STDs every year in the united states. There are 41,731,233 teens in the united states, so that is roughly 10,432,808.25 kids receiving STDs in the united states every year. With fewer than half of high schools and only a fifth of middle schools teaching all 26 topics recommended by the Centers for Disease Control Team(2015), these numbers shouldn’t be surprising. The majority of teens in the United States are taught that abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy or STDs, but in today's society temptation is very prevalent. In the United States 46% of high school age kids have had sex Conklin (2014), and represent 50% of all the new STDs dosomething.org(2014). It is

Often, sexual education can go against an individual's moral or religious beliefs. Many schools do not teach abstinence only but teach safe sex, whereas many religious groups and families do not value intercourse before marriage. Teachers may input their own beliefs or morals into the subject matter rather than stick with the facts if they are not properly trained on how to conduct a sex education course. Sex education classes are briefly focused on during a health class or physical education. This is not a long enough period to educate students on such serious material. These arguments does not take into account the fact that students will be taught on subjects such as, sexually transmitted diseases, the reproductive system, sexually and birthing issues rather than the stuff they learn through peers, television or the internet. Many of the myths learned by students about sex swill also are discussed, such as not being able to get pregnant the first time. Classes for those of a younger group are separated by gender, saving embarrassment amongst students and teachers. Teaching sex education can have a major impact on preventing unplanned pregnancy and other sexual problems in adulthood.

Winks & Semans in their chapter “Safer Sex” outline a variety of information that teaches readers how to have safe sex by explaining how to use condoms, dental dams, etc. (2002). They write, “the AIDS epidemic provides a distressing example of the inherent limits of public health campaigns to impose behavioral changes in the context of a sex-negative society” (2002:294). In this, the limitations stem from the unwillingness to discuss information that goes against heteronormativity or society’s view of an ideal sexual encounter (i.e. penile-vaginal intercourse). Winks & Semans expound, stating, “unwillingness to be explicit about sexual activities often results in public health warnings being painted with such a broad brush that people wind up just throwing up their hands and taking no precautions” (2002:294). By not taking precautions this brings up the issue of not stopping the spread of STI’s, which is important. Sociologists and sexuality educators are concerned about the consequences of current sexual health education courses because they strive to actually wanting to stop the problem of STI’s (Walden 2016). As well as lack of information, these sexual health education programs promote heteronormativity and provide alternatives to society’s standard of sexuality. This poses a problem due to the fact that it does not promote an egalitarian atmosphere, where

As the beliefs, values and norms of Australia began to shift, a more comprehensive sexuality education program was developed in 1988 which focused on Human Relationship Education as well as the biological factors previously addressed in sex education (Goldman, 2010). Sexuality education was described in the 1999 Health and Physical Education curriculum for New Zealand, as a lifelong process acquiring information and forming values, beliefs and attitudes about identity, relationship and intimacy (Sinkinson, 2009). It includes the biological, psychosocial and socio-cultural dimensions of sexual health and incorporates personal rights and responsibilities, relationship negotiations and skills to communicate effectively (Sinkinson, 2009; ). By engaging in a

Controversy is rampant regarding the sexual education of grade school children. Some insist that it is prudent to educate children on this subject beginning as early as kindergarten. Others strongly disagree that earlier education has any effect at all on teen sex and pregnancy and, therefore, abstinence should be the focus. Lastly, we have those who believe advocating abstinence is appropriate, but agree that a more in depth sexual education is also necessary for those who are going to have sex anyway despite our best efforts to teach them otherwise.

Coinciding with the onslaught of the new millennium, schools are beginning to realize that the parents are not doing their job when it comes to sexual education. The school system already has classes on sexual education; these classes are based mainly on human anatomy. Most schools do not teach their students about relationships, morals, respect, self-discipline, self-respect, and most importantly contraceptives. Everyday students engage in sexual activity, many of them with out condoms. This simple act jeopardizes these students' futures and possibly their lives. An increasing amount of school systems are starting to combine messages involving abstinence from sexual activity,