(N.7) Case Study: Sexual Health Education Flashcards
Sexual health
a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality
requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence
T or F: sexual health is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity
T
T or F: for sexual health to be attained and maintained, the sexual rights of all persons must be respected, protected and fulfilled
T
Sexual health education
the process of equipping individuals, couples, families and communities with the information, motivation and behavioural skills needed to ENHANCE SEXUAL HEALTH and AVOID NEGATIVE sexual health outcomes
Age of consent
= when a young person can legally agree to all forms of sexual activity
○ 16 years
exception to age of consent
close in age exceptions
= 14 or 15 year old can consent as long as the partner is LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLDER & there is no relationship of trust, authority, dependency, any exploitation of younger
= 12 and 13 years old = LESS THAN 2 YEARS
(2 or 5+ years = criminal offence)
Sexual Intercourse in Canada
15-17: %
18-19:
20-24:
15-17: 20.6%
18-19: 52.%
20-24: 71.5%
Condom use during last sexual intercourse among those currently sexually active
15-17: %
18-19:
20-24:
15-17: 79.9%
18-19: 67.3%
20-24: 55.1%
How to fix not using protection amongst young people having sex
Sex-ed!!!!
T or F: sex-ed can correlate impacts with whether they received sexual education or not
T
Higher rate of..
Chlamydia =
Gonorrhea =
Chlamydia = women
Gonorrhea = men
T or F: rise of high STI rates in Canada is due to decline in condom use
T: Evidence suggests rates and rise of high STI rates in Canada is due to decline in condom use
Have seen decline in almost all crimes in Canada over the past decades EXCEPT ____?
sexual assault
- decrease in crime, increase in SA
Disagreement not around whether sexual health should be taught, but rather _____ & ______ should be taught
how and what
____%+ of students agreed sexual health should be taught in schools
____%+ of parents agreed sexual health should be taught in schools
90% of students
87% of parents
Debates often stem from what methods of teaching should be
○ Abstinence
○ Risks of sex (e.g., STIs, pregnancy)
○ Sexual pleasure
○ Consent; being free from coercion.
When was The Ontario Curriculum (Grades 1-8)
Health & Physical Education
Introduced in 1998
= General expectations (including sex ed), teachers revamp curriculum
2010 revamped curriculum
Dalton McGuinty (lib) revamped curriculum
- Pushback for revamping curriculum, never went through
- remained with 1998
2015 - revamped curriculum
Kathleen Wynne revamped
- 244 pages
- Very robust, included technology
- Curriculum has sparked anger from parents (promotes sexual behaviour in kids and teens)
-Massive protest by parents, religious groups .etc
- Worried it would increase sexual behaviours in children
- View = parents have a right to decide for their children
challenge with parent pushback for 2015 revision
ill-health effects would still be in play by parents taking proportion of children out
2018 - revision
Doug Ford election vowed to change in favour of parents
= Ford government did change it
- Reverted to 2010 for physical health
- 1998 for sexual health
2015: knowing body parts/using correct terms, hygiene
vs
2010 (2018): life cycles of plants/humans .etc
Criticism about no explicit mention (in teaching expectations) of:
- Anatomical terms for genitalia
- Consent
- Same-sex families (pre-dates legal same-sex marriage)
- Sex and the internet
- Smartphones, cyber bullying, and sexting (pre-dates all)
*****Did not exist in 1998
Teacher protest against 2018 curriculum
- Teaching what was not in the curriculum could result in students/parents calling provincial government snitch line and tell on teacher
- Could be reprimanded for doing so
Evidence on abstinence education not being adequate
- Leads to more sex, not less
- Doesn’t talk about consent
goals of sexual health education
i. help people achieve positive outcomes
- self-esteem, respect for self/others, non-exploitative sexual relations, rewarding human relationships, informed reproductive choices
ii. avoid negative outcomes (STI/HIV, sexual coercion, unintended pregnancy)
Why was 2015 curriculum was so problematic
proceeded without consultation (public, parents, students)
sex-ed consultations in 2018 to gather information from parents, citizens .etc = Health and Physical Education (2019)
- present curriculum
- Similar to 2015 version that was scrapped
- Cost $1 million to do so
- Results showed what the public wanted
Memorandum from Ministry of Education exempted students from instruction of those specific sex-ed components (grade 1-8) if a parent decides so
○ Mandates children to be educated, yet parents can override for sexual health
Health public policy
extent to which health experts, professionals, scientists should be focused on what’s going on in hospitals and clinics/health system
VS
how much they should be engaging in other sectors of society given their exponential knowledge
Sex education is primarily the responsibility of the ___
education sector (Ontario’s Ministry of Education)
- One could design a sex ed curriculum with or without an explicit concern for health/accountability for health impact
