As teenagers in the UK, more often than not our first interactions with sex education involve a banana, a condom and a very awkward-looking teacher.
And the reality is that many of us leave school feeling unfulfilled and, crucially, unenlightened by the formal education we’ve received. For young girls, in particular, that’s now statistically proven to be the reality.
Close to half of girls leave school without sufficient understanding of healthy sex and relationships, a UK-wide report shared with the i newspaper has uncovered.
It found that 44% of girls and young women aged between 12 and 21 felt they had not been given vital information in these areas as part of their school education, while one in five (17%) felt that boys and men are equipped with the basics of healthy relationships and sex.
The data, which surveyed 3,000 girls and young women, also found that close to one in 10 girls (9%) can envisage a situation in which it would be ‘acceptable’ for a boy or man to hit them.
The paper, due to be released by Plan International UK as part of the State of Girls Report in June, is a damning investigation into the status of sex education in the UK.
It’s only going to get worse, too. Yesterday, Conservative education secretary Gillian Keegan announced plans to crack down on sex education in schools.
The new age limit is set to ban teaching children about ‘explicit’ topics, including ‘gender ideology,’ until they reach the age of 13. Schools could also be limited on discussions the government considers ‘explicit,’ such as contraception and changing gender identity.
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Currently, children can be taught about sex and sexual health, including contraception, when they start secondary school at the age of 11.
However, critics have argued that removing information about gender identity and trans issues from the curriculum signifies a similar move to that of Section 28. Introduced by Margaret Thatcher in 1988, the policy prohibited the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ by local authorities.
It meant that local authorities, including schools and libraries, could not ‘intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality’ or ‘the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.’
Banning teachers from talking about transgender issues now arguably signifies a similar form of censorship.
And, despite the government’s concerns, the new policy isn’t necessarily reflective of the UK public’s – and critically, parents’ – views on trans-inclusive sex education.
A new poll from YouGov found that 60-61% of Brits said that they believed that sex education should teach children that people can be transgender or non-binary – including between 66 and 67% of parents.
68% believed that sex education should also include explicit discussion of sexual acts, pornography (72%), revenge porn (77%), that people can be gay or bisexual (78%), forced marriage (79%) and the negative effects of porn (82%).
As Gigi Engle, sexologist and expert at sextoys.co.uk tells Metro.co.uk, this move towards censorship of sex education isn’t helping children.
‘These new policies are a rollback in sex positivity which is really disheartening. It’s very regressive. Study after study has shown that when kids have access to sex education materials, they have lower rates of STI transmission and lower rates of teen pregnancy,’ Gigi explains.
‘Where there is consent conversation, there are more instances of boundaries around bodies which can lead to less sexual assault. Education does nothing but good things,’ she adds, noting that the Netherlands where age-appropriate sex education is introduced sometimes as early as four, has the lowest rates of STI transmission and teen pregnancy.
‘It’s a reflection of a lot of the ways politicians are viewing gender identity and trying to roll it back, this ‘war on woke’ situation, when actually this is just going to cause harm and make children feel isolated, especially children who are gender non-conforming,’ Gigi concludes.
Introducing bans on sex education endangers students, and erasing trans people from the curriculum further so.
When sex ed is taken off the curriculum, students will only acquire it elsewhere, whether that’s through porn or misinformation circulated on the internet. Good, thorough, inclusive education has the opportunity to shape that.
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