The case for and against sex education

The case for and against sex education

Rumbidzai Mhlanga 

BULAWAYO- The high rising number of teenage pregnancies has sparked debate on sex education for teenagers,  with some members of the public questioning sex education and alleging that it encourages premature sex. On the other hand, proponents of sex education deem it to be a necessary tool against unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

In the olden days, teenage sexual escapades, let alone teenage pregnancies were frowned upon as a taboo both culturally and religiously. However, in keeping with evolving times teenage pregnancies coupled with sexual and reproductive health rights of the young have come to be ‘acceptable’ to some extent.

Parents are divided when it comes to sexual education for the youth as some view it as a time bomb for immorality that encourages teenagers to have sex at an early age while others see it as  necessary to help teenagers make well informed decisions. 

A mother and aunt who prefers anonymity says she is far from accepting such a culture and urges Africans to revert to their conservative culture.

“For me, knowing that a 16 year old child is allowed to have sexual intercourse still sends shivers down my spine. It is absurd. At this stage of their life, I expect them to be taught good morals and not to be taught how to safely practice sex at such a tender age. What happened to teaching girls the pride of being married as virgins? Teaching them about sexual health  encourages adolescents to have sex at an early age as they are encouraged to put to practice the knowledge they would have acquired. This is totally wrong and I urge our people to embrace our own ways and stop imitating alien cultures,” she said.

Miss Mildred Desouza, another parent, concurred while adding that culturally, sex is a taboo. According to her, sexual education will “definitely trigger the desire in youths to experiment,  adding more to the number of teenage pregnancies which might be a problem to parents because these adolescents are still under parental care.”

Some parents however, believe it is high time society concedes that with or without sexual education, most of the youth are sexually active anyway as evidenced by the skyrocketing numbers of teenage pregnancies and the number of girls who die during backdoor abortions.  They therefore argue that it is wise to educate youths on sexual matters.
Mr Mapungwana,  father of 6 and grandfather of 7, says sexual education for the youth is the right call.

“Times have changed, gone are the days when we as parents could not address such issues at home only to get a rude awakening to the fact that children have been sexually active the whole time when they come home pregnant or when we discover that they are suffering from a sexually transmitted infection. As hard as it is to stomach that our children are engaging in these activities, it is better that they get educated both at home and school or have some kind of youth programs to educate and prepare them, so that they know what they are getting themselves into and all the risks that come with the decisions they make. With improved knowledge on sexual health, I think we will have less numbers of teenage pregnancies and maybe we will raise that AIDS free generation we long for because we would be raising a generation that is well informed in that respect,” he said.

Sandra Gama, a Programs Officer at The Girls Table shared the same sentiments with Mr Mapungwana. She said  it is paramount for youths to have access to sexual education and that this education  will help lower the rate of school dropouts who are mostly girls, usually after falling pregnant.

“For most girls in Zimbabwe getting pregnant out of wedlock spells doom for their prospects in life. They face the danger of being shunned by their family and ostracized by society, therefore the only way out of this predicament would be to terminate the pregnancy. Since Zimbabwe criminalizes abortions except in cases of rape and medical conditions, they then resort to backyard abortions which expose them to death or life long health conditions.Young people need to be equipped with adequate information in order for them to make informed decisions.

 Sex education will help us encourage them to abstain from early sexual activities and also teach them on engaging in these activities responsibly,” said Miss Gama. 

A lady who could only identify herself as Violet said shunning sex education would be futile since teenagers have access to the internet which is replete with sexual content. 

“The world has gone digital and so even if we avoid talking about sex with teenagers, they are just a click away from  accessing dangerous sexual content on the internet. There is therefore a need for proper sex education ideally before indulging in sex. Hopefully such an approach can curb the high rates of girls dropping out of school due to unplanned pregnancies. 

I also advocate for the issuing of condoms, morning-after pills and other contraceptives to teenagers so that they do not sire children before they are mentally and financially ready.
 Proper health education would also help to avoid loss of life. If young people are conversant with the risks of carelessly indulging in sexual activities there would be lesser cases of youths spreading viruses among each other,” she said.

In Zimbabwe, one in every five girls drops out of school due to pregnancy and 70 000 unsafe, illegal abortions are recorded per year.