Latest update January 17th, 2025 6:30 AM
Sex education crucial in the school system – Professor Figueroa
It is absolutely essential that young people are given a full sex education in the school system as well as in the home.
This notion has been repeatedly emphasised by Professor Peter Figueroa, a Professor of Public Health, Epidemiology and HIV/AIDS at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.
Professor Peter Figueroa
This course of action is imperative, he noted, even though there are instances where adults have a difficulty dealing with the subject of sex education.
“We did a survey in Jamaica many years ago and we surveyed parents, children and the teachers and over 90 percent of all three groups wanted sexual education in the schools. The parents were relieved when it was being done but I do not see the education system being as proactive in this arena and many teachers are concerned that if they do condom demonstrations maybe the parents would be offended.”
Nonetheless, he noted that a lot of work has been done throughout the Caribbean as it relates to HIV and AIDS.
According to him all countries have a programme which serves to raise awareness about what should be done to address the scourge of HIV. However, Professor Figueroa noted that “this is a kind of condition where you have to systematically keep up the work.”
He further cautioned that there is need for more to be done to reach those most at risk. In light of the scourge of HIV/AIDS, he noted that Caricom has been promoting a Health and Family Life Education Programme curriculum in the school system.
Many Caribbean countries, he said, have adopted this curriculum which attempts to give young people life skills, sex education and promote individual responsible behaviour including as it relates to abstinence.
He said, though, that a problem is often linked to the fact that sex education does not become sufficiently real to young people as they are not being taught safer sex skills in relation to how to negotiate interpersonal relations and how to actually use a condom even in the context of encouraging them to abstain from sex.
“They still need to learn how to use a condom by using condom demonstrations so that when they become sexually active they know how to use it. What I am saying is that we need to get more explicit sex education and condom skills into the Health and Family Life Education among the young people and work out with them different approaches that they can take among themselves so that the education is more effective.”
Presenting examples as it relates to Jamaica, Professor Figueroa revealed that on average boys begin sexual activities when they are 16 years of age, adding that over the last 15 years the first sexual encounter age for girls has decreased from 18 years old to under 17.
But while the findings presented may vary from person to person, he noted, that there are many young people who are becoming sexually active and are experimenting from age 14 or even younger.
“The young people are going to have to make up their minds themselves whether the adults like it or not so we have to encourage them to act responsibly, to understand the risks involved and to encourage them to abstain but at some point they are going to become sexually active and are going to need safer sex skills to protect themselves,” Professor Figueroa added.
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