SEX EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

SEX EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

By Noel D. De Ocampo, MSN/ED, RN
http://thefilipinonurseforum.blogspot.com/
June 22, 2010

The premise that the church has the moral obligation to promote God’s teachings is understandable as this is what most Filipinos believe in. But isn’t God promoting to protect the children from harm, too? By not teaching these children what their bodies will go through in their developmental stages is a clear indication that the church is refusing to evolve and would rather put these children’s health and well-being at risk.

Contrary to Filipino clergymen’s teachings, the more knowledgeable a person is about sexuality, the more responsible he or she becomes. Teaching sex and sexuality to children before their teenage years increases their awareness of many sexually transmitted diseases and the burdens of early parenthood. In the United States, sexuality education has been widely promoted as one of the most important educational responsibility since the 1960s. In recent years, this promotion increased significantly due to the proliferation of sexually transmitted diseases and significant increase in teen pregnancies (Daniluk & Towill, 2001).

Teaching sexuality does not necessarily mean teaching children to become promiscuous. Sexuality education and abstinence can be taught hand in hand. The time spent to teach sexuality may be the best time to teach abstinence and other health issues that most people are facing now. Most of these children will have sexual encounter eventually, and the best way to prepare them is to teach them what to expect and to teach them how to reduce risk-taking behaviors.

We are no longer in the Spanish era. Don’t let the church meddle with this very important educational initiative. Forget about flowers and bloom. Let the teachers talk about PENIS & VAGINA. There is nothing wrong with that.