School education

Safe Sex Campaign in Moscow was initiated in June of 1997. It was aimed at young people (ages 15 - 25) and provided information on contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). With no nation wide sex education in the schools, this was virtually the only resource of this nature. The occurrence of STDs has increased roughly 60 times since 1990. A March, 2000, survey of Moscow youth shows that information and knowledge are the key to reducing these numbers but that misconceptions still are prevalent. For example, 29 percent of those surveyed thought that eating from the same plate put one at risk of HIV. Ninety-three percent of those responding to this survey said they would support sex education in the schools.

Waarom zo weinig seks educatie op scholen?

With the constant rise in abortions and cases of HIV/AIDS and STDs in Russia, the debate over sex education in the schools has boiled over. Some oppose it altogether; namely the Church and old Communists. Those who support it are divided. One position is to teach it but offer abstinence as the one and only option. Others think sex ed programs should emphasize waiting to have sex, but should also include information on birth control . The debate is very heated and the result is no sex ed at all.

One hope is the offering of sex education through private organizations such as the 50 regional centers of the Moscow based Russian Family Planning Association. This non-profit group receives funding from the Russian government as well as the International Planned Parenthood Federation based in London, England. They provide information and conduct workshops, but emphasize the need for young people to discuss sexual issues with their parents. Other outside organizations, such as the Care for Health Campaign, bring education to Russia as a healthy alternative to abortion.

http://www.russianlife.com/article.cfm?Number=770

Three-quarters of the teachers were convinced that form teachers (persons who are primarily responsible for social and moral education) should discuss issues of gender and sexual relations with their students. However, 65 % of teachers reported never having done this, and another 15 % had done it only once or twice. It is clear why this is the case: only 11.5 % of teachers feel that they are well prepared for this task. Eighty five per cent were in favor of special courses on the fundamentals of sexology in pedagogical universities.

In general, respondents in the 1997 survey were unanimous that sex education courses in schools must be launched. It might be expected that such courses will become one of the favorite curriculum subjects for students. 61 % of seventh-grade students and 73 % of the ninth-graders said that they be eager to attend such classes. Only 5 % of students would prefer to avoid them.

There are much more serious disagreements among the interested groups, however, with respect to the content of sexeducation. Teachers would like to offer a detailed treatment of anatomy, physiology and ethics, whereas students are more interested in practical issues and in sexual pleasure.

Waarover zou seks educatie op scholen moeten gaan volgens de leerlingen?



http://www.pseudology.org/Kon/English/Better%20AIDS%20than%20sex%20education.htm