Sex Education Is Not Taboo

Source : Harian Pijar

Sexuality education is very important for children because it aims to provide knowledge, understanding, and teachings about preventing sexual harassment. Sex education is not taboo but is comprehensive and inclusive because it is essential to helping individuals develop a healthy understanding of sexuality and sexual health. We need to remove the negative stigma regarding sexual education and treat sexual education as a normal and important topic, especially in this era of rampant sexual acts.

Source : CNN Indonesia

Schools and parents have an important role to play in preventing sexual violence against children by introducing sexual education at an early age, this is due to the increasing number of cases of sexual crimes against children. Parents need not hesitate anymore to teach sex education to their children from an early age because the lack of sexuality education for children can become more dangerous when children become teenagers. Sex education should not be taboo because:

1.  With comprehensive sexual education, we can have accurate knowledge about body anatomy. Teachers can teach using appropriate terms about private body parts and how to care for them, of course this must also be supported by parental teachings while at home.

2.  Open with emotion and self-expression. Parents have a very big role in how children can express emotions and self-expression so that parents can identify what is happening to their children.

3.  Prevent disease and sexual abuse. Early sexual education can also teach about personal boundaries and privacy to protect children from unsafe situations and accustom them to reporting incidents if something bad happens.

4.  Physical changes and awareness of the body. Sex education help children to understand the physical changes that occur to them during puberty and sexual development. This can be help reduce the embarrassment and confusion when they are going through it and can even make them better prepared to deal with it.

5.  Sexual education can reduce stigma and discrimination against sexual orientation, gender identity and other sexual diversity so that children can respect the differences in their environment.

6.  Openness in the relationship between parents and children can also encourage them to ask questions and provide a safe space to share thoughts, questions or concerns about their sexuality or body.

7.  Teach about how healthy friendships 

When conveying information, parents or teachers must use simple, honest, and age-appropriate language. Use fun and interactive approaches, such as children’s books, games, or stories to teach these concepts. It is important to ensure that sexual education is provided in an appropriate manner, age-appropriate, and with due regard to cultural and religious values. By teaching sexual education without stigma and taboos, we can create a more sexually aware, healthy and inclusive society.

Writer : Ayu Amelia Rahayu (Communication Science’21)

Editor : Salma Devy Andini (Communication Science’21)