The United Nations recently proposed a set of international sex education guidelines that sparked heavy criticism among conservative and religious groups that say the program is too explicit for young children.
The proposed guidelines are aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS infection among young people with the belief that education is the strongest vaccine we have in the absence of a vaccine for AIDS.
According to The New York Times, a draft of the guidelines recommended that the program educate children as young as five on such controversial topics as masturbation and homosexuality, in addition to sexual abstinence, condom use, emergency contraceptives and “access to safe abortion and post-abortion care.”
“It’s very graphic and encourages practices like masturbation, which conservative Christians and others feel are wrong,” said Colin Mason of the Population Research Institution, an anti-abortion organization, in regard to the proposed program.
The main goal of the U.N. is not necessarily to promote masturbation or abortion, but to empower our youth with a depth of knowledge that could potentially save their lives.
The purpose of this initiative is to provide young people with the information and resources they need to make more informed decisions.
When it comes to sexual education, you can’t make everyone happy. Whatever universal approach the U.N. tries to take with this initiative will be viewed as “culturally insensitive” amid a diversity of viewpoints across the globe, says Mason.
Conservatives need to stop being so uptight about the ordeal and open up their eyes to the reality that sex education actually helps delay the onset of sexual activity. There’s even a portion of the guidelines specifically dedicated to its justification and addresses the concerns of parents and religious leaders alike.
Those of us who became sexually active in our teens know fully well that once you start having sex, you just can’t stop because it has become an integral part of modern courtship. The longer young people wait to have sex, the fewer partners they will have, thereby reducing their risk for contracting HIV/AIDS.
As far as masturbation is concerned, you can’t deny the fact that practicing masturbation is actually a healthy form of sexual exploration that is a lot safer than sexual intercourse.
Let kids masturbate their little hearts out, for crying out loud, if it means protecting them from unwanted diseases.
Each year, the International Planned Parenthood Federation reports at least 111 million new cases of sexually transmitted disease among young people ages 10 to 24. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those infected with STDs are at least two-to-five times more likely than unaffected individuals to acquire an HIV infection.
The proposed international guidelines, which would guide teachers on what to teach young people about their bodies, sex, relationships and sexually-transmitted diseases, has been two years in the making and is based on 80 studies of sexual education programs.
The main purpose of the project was to help member countries improve sex education and sexual health, reduce the contraction of sexually-transmitted diseases and prevent illegal abortions.
The more open and honest we are as a society regarding sexual education, the better informed young people will be to make smarter and wiser decisions when it comes to sex.