Kids these days are having sex younger and they’re doing it more often. Who can blame us? It’s fun, exciting and cheaper than a movie. But while we’re having more sex, it seems we’re not doing it properly. Unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are spreading at a shocking rate and not much is being done to stop them.
All sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are on the rise in Australia, including the big one, HIV/AIDS. Most alarming is the rise in Chlamydia infections; the rate of infection has doubled in the last five years. If you’ve had, or plan on having sex anytime soon, and you think this isn’t relevant to you—think again. In fact, if you’re a woman it’s likely that at some stage you will be infected with Chlamydia—60% of women and 25% of men will get it.
Chlamydia is not fun. It can destroy your reproductive system, cause premature arthritis, disfigure your genitals with warts and cause birth defects. If that wasn’t bad enough, it can make pus leak out of your penis or vagina—and that’s sooo not hot right now. But don’t stress too much, it can be prevented with a condom and cured with a single pill if it’s caught early enough.
In fact lots of harmful STIs can be treated and even cured if they are caught in the early stages of infection. However, some STIs have no cure. AIDS will kill you, but only after destroying your muscles, giving you painful infections, agonising chills, fevers, cancers and hallucinations.
Most of what I’ve written so far is something most young Australians don’t know (I didn’t). We don’t know why we should get ourselves tested for STIs and we don’t know how to. When you mix risk and sex it should mean doing it on a train, not without a condom.
That's why there have been calls for the federal government to set up a national sex education platform to teach us about the birds and the bees. Though many people agree with the idea, everyone’s arguing about what should be taught. Some of what should be taught is mentioned above—the course should cover STIs, sexuality, pregnancy, condom use, risk and relationships. It can’t be overly technical or boring, which shouldn’t be too hard, because after all, sex is fun!
Kids and condoms
There are three main barriers to setting up a national program. Firstly, some people think it’s solely the job of parents to talk to kids about sex. They need a reality check. Most parents don’t want to talk to their kids about sex—they’re not trained, they don’t have the information and for some it’s just plain weird. What’s more, not all kids have great relationships with their parents and for many, talking about sex with mum and dad just aint kool.
The other barrier is the age thing. The average age for loss of virginity is now 16 years old, so education really needs to start in primary school. Yet the idea of young children being taught about sex doesn’t sit well with some adults. Currently there are no requirements for schools to teach sex ed, and most schools that do, start well into the secondary years.
Then there are those (some of whom run schools) that object passionately to the whole condom thing because of religious reasons. They believe in teaching abstinence and only abstinence, that is, ‘no sex before marriage’. In fact our federal Health Minister Tony Abbot, a committed catholic, told Triple J’s Hack that he didn’t want to create a ‘condom culture’.
This attitude is a big problem because condoms are recognised by doctors as being the most effective way of stopping the transmission of STIs and preventing unwanted pregnancies. Studies show that teaching abstinence just doesn’t work and actually leads to kids have sex younger with less protection. Surprise surprise, we want what we’re told we can’t have.
Let’s talk about sex
The silence isn’t working, things are just getting worse. This is not just an education issue; it's a health issue with lives at stake. We should be given complete information about our options so that we can make our own decisions. We should also have a say in what’s going to be taught.
If you’re interested in having better sex education on the national agenda, email a politician and let them know. In the meantime, educate yourself and check out the links to sexual health websites. Take charge of your health and get tested, it’s free and confidential. Above all, take sex out of the bedroom and discuss the issues, because the silence is literally killing us.
How do I know this?
Family Planning Victoria,
www.fpv.org.au
Lane, S 2007, ‘Abstinence-only programs don't work: report’,
PM, 17 April,
www.abc.net.au/reslib/200704/r138074_470941.mp3;
www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s1899734.htm
Lim, M, Hellard, M, Aitken, C & Hocking, J 2007, ‘Sexual-risk behaviour, self-perceived risk and knowledge of sexually transmissible infections among young Australians attending a music festival’
Sexual Health, 4(1)
Milburn, C 2006, ‘Think Sex’,
The Age, 29 May,
www.theage.com.au/news/education-news/think-sex/2006/05/28/1148754861223.html
O’Toole, K 2007, ‘What ever happened to safe sex’,
Hack, 15 February,
www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/notes/mp3s/sex_special.mp3;
www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/notes/s1849439.htm
Reach Out!,
www.reachout.com.au
Scarleteen, Sex education for the real world,
www.scarleteen.com
Sexual Health Network,
www.sexualhealth.com
SHine,
www.shinesa.org.au
your sex health,
www.yoursexhealth.org
