SEX EDUCATION

Sex Education Alone Is Not Enough to Cut Pregnancies and Abortions among Teenagers in UK

Sex Education Alone Is Not Enough to Cut Pregnancies and Abortions among Teenagers in UK

Introduction

Progressive, comprehensive sex education encompasses the myriad issues related to human sexuality, including birth control, abortion, sexual orientation, and pregnancy (Luker 2007, 8-15). In UK, such programmes could not provide appropriate information throughout primary and secondary education and support student exploration and development of emotions, attitudes, values, and identity as well as interpersonal communication and decision-making skills.

Teen pregnancy is commonly defined as a pregnancy by a woman who has not reached the age of majority in her country. In UK, teenage pregnancy has always occurred, but in recent years, many in the UK have defined it as a serious problem. Teen pregnancy is associated with negative outcomes for both mother and a girl. It is also associated with contested political and moral ideologies. The history of the concept of teenage pregnancy, the outcomes of teen pregnancy, and social policies all inform how British society treats the issue.

Sex Education

In addition to making the requirements stricter for teenage mothers to receive welfare, politicians attached a provision to the welfare reform bill that stated that federal money allocated for sex education programs could be used only for abstinence-only-until-marriage programmes (Bruess & Greenburg 2004, 65-78). These programs must meet strict requirements, which include not teaching about contraception, safer-sex methods, or sexually transmitted diseases, and emphasizing that marriage and self-sufficiency are prerequisites to sexual activity. The ideology behind this is that comprehensive sex education, which teaches about contraception and safer-sex practices, encourages teenagers to become sexually active. Thus, teaching abstinence-only will discourage teenage sexual activity.

Some criticize this approach and argue that teenagers will likely still engage in sexual activity and should be equipped with the knowledge to make better choices. Critics argue that this may increase the teenage pregnancy rate (and sexually transmitted diseases, or STD, rates) because teenagers will not know how to prevent pregnancy, protect themselves from disease transmission, or obtain abortions. Studies show that students who receive abstinence-only education are just as likely to be sexually active as teenagers as those who receive comprehensive sexual education. (Luker 2007, 13-21)

Stratification

Stratification describes the way in which different groups of people are placed within society. The status of people is often determined by how society is stratified - the basis of which can include;

Wealth and income - This is the most common basis of stratification

Social class

Ethnicity

Gender

Political status

Religion (e.g. the caste system in India)

The stratification of society is also based upon either an open, or closed, system.

Inequality

The denial of young people's sexualities is at the heart of school based sex education. Sexual abstinence should be the only message, liberals counter that an approach that provides comprehensive instruction and helps young people avoid sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy is necessary. Caught in the middle are the students and teachers whose everyday experiences of sex education are seldom as clear-cut as either ...