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U.K. Youth Demand Better Sex Ed
by Chris Hayhurst, 05.16.06
"Students should feel they are equipped with the knowledge they need to make decisions in their life." |
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As the editor of CosmoGIRL!, one of Britain's most popular teen magazines, Celia Duncan receives hundreds of letters every week from readers seeking advice about sexual health and relationships. She began to feel as if her readers weren't getting enough information in their school's sex and relationships education (SRE) classes, so in December, she decided to do something about it.
Duncan conducted a survey of CosmoGIRL! readers. More than 80 percent of those who responded said that SRE at their schools could be improved, and one-third called their SRE programs "absolute rubbish." Spurred on by the survey's findings, Duncan started the "Just Say Know" campaign to advocate for better SRE. The campaign's first order of business: circulating a petition calling for high-quality, comprehensive SRE to be mandatory in all secondary schools.
Beyond "The Birds and the Bees"
British secondary schools are required to teach basic information about sex and relationships in SRE classes — but beyond that, there's no guidance on what teachers need to cover, so SRE tends to vary widely from school to school. "The only thing required is the birds-and-bees basics of sex," explains Duncan. "The government goes on and on about what they would like schools to teach, but they don't make it compulsory."
In particular, Duncan believes that the "relationships" part of SRE is lacking. "What we really want is for the information on STIs and sex to go hand-in-hand with information on raising self-esteem and self-confidence," she says. "Students should feel they are equipped with the knowledge they need to make decisions in their life. They should have the confidence and self-esteem to keep from being coerced or pushed into things they don't want to do. Their teachers should be specially trained. They shouldn't go red at the first mention of sex."
London Calling
After Duncan gathered more than 2,000 signatures on the SRE petition, she launched an essay contest, asking CosmoGIRL! readers to explain how SRE could be improved. "We were kind of overwhelmed with entries, and many were really compelling," says Duncan — but one entry stood out from the rest. Bethany Cole, a 16-year-old student at Royal Latin School in Buckingham, England, wrote an essay comparing her own satisfactory SRE education to that of a friend, who received very little information in his SRE classes.
Thanks to her winning essay, Cole was chosen to travel to 10 Downing Street, London, the official residence of the British prime minister. Accompanied by her mother and by Duncan, Cole delivered the petition to British Prime Minister Tony Blair on February 27.
Since then, Cole and Duncan have been featured on national television and radio programs and in a variety of newspapers. They just met with the government's minister of public health to discuss SRE improvement, and more meetings are in the works. "We'll keep the pressure on," says Duncan. "The more people talk about this, the better." |
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