NATION
teenage pregnancy, premarital abortion, sexual
Lessons
In Love
Age-appropriate sex education aims to make
youths more responsible By Yu Nan
W
h a t com es to y o u r m in d im m e d i­ asked by children such as "Where do I come
ately when we talk about sex? In a sex
education class for primary school stu­
dents’ parents in Dujiangyan, southwest China’s
Sichuan Province, teacher Du Li asks this ques­
tion and triggers an animated discussion on
puberty and sex education.
"My son asked. Why is it that daddy and I
can stand up to pee, but you have to squat?”
an embarrassed mother narrates her uninten­
tionally funny story as an example o f how she
explained sex to her son. "My husband didn’t
know how to reply, mumbling. That’s the way
the government has ordered it ’”
Explaining body and sex
How does one answer questions frequently
26 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 4,2016
fro m ? ’ Many parents avoid giving a d ire ct
answer due to conservative Chinese attitudes
toward sex
It is widely acknowledged that sex educa­
tion is inadequate in Chinese schools. This has
some serious effects on youngsters, resulting in
Average age o f Chinese adolescents
having sex for the first time
harassment and AIDS. The situation calls for
greater awareness, particularly in parents, o f the
importance o f adequate sex education.
"If we teach them about their bodies and
sex properly, the y will learn how to pro te ct
themselves from harm,” said Zeng Yan, father
of a 6-year-old.
Zhang Yinjun has been making efforts to
promote scientific sex education.
"Apart from biological knowledge, the sex
education [we give] includes psychological and
moral knowledge and sexual responsibility.
That's an important part we are trying to teach
young people,” said Zhang, co-founder o f the
AIDS Prevention Education Project for Chinese
Youth (APEPCY).
APEPCY, founded in 2006, provides sex ed­
ucation and AIDS prevention curriculums with
an age-appropriate approach by working with
local schools across the country. A successful
example is Du's lectures for parents at the Ding
Xin Xin Jian Primary School in Dujiangyan.
Gou Ping, a p s y c h o lo g y p ro fe s s o r a t
Chengdu University in Sichuan, wants to make
sure that her students cultivate a sense o f re­
sponsibility where love and sex are concerned.
"What we teach students is the principle
o f ’love and responsibility.' We aim to make
students aware th a t any decision they make
while under the rosy influence o f love will defi­
nitely affect their future for good or for bad. Sex
should be seen as a serious activity with lifelong
consequences," said Gou, who is also deputy
director o f APEPCYs adolescent sex education
Du Li, a teacher in Dujiangyan,
Sichuan Province, talks with a
participant at a sex education
class for primary school students'
parents on June 23
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base in Sichuan.
Gou added that the most popular elective
in Chengdu University is sex education. The
course is in demand so much that all the seats
are taken within minutes.
T he u n iv e rs ity is th e seco nd h ig h e r-
education institution in the country offering an
academic minor in sex education. Beijing-based
Capital Normal University is the first to offer
such a course.
Protecting the future
The popularity o f th e sex education lessons
shows th a t young people w ant to be better
informed. A lack o f sex education creates many
problems.
A report released by the National Health
and Family Planning Com m ission in 2015
said the average age o f Chinese adolescents
having sex for the first tim e is 15.9 years. As
a result, unw anted and teenage pregnan­
cies are on th e rise, m ost o f w hich end in
abortion. About 13 million abortions are per­
form ed in China every year.
Although there is greater open-mindedness
about sexual rights, particularly among youths,
a survey conducted by the Chinese Center for
Disease Control and Prevention last year found
that more than half of the Chinese college stu­
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dents who were interviewed had no idea how to
use a condom correctly.
This puts young people at risk o f sexually
transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, ac­
cording to Zhang Jianxin, a professor at the
West China School o f Public Health, Sichuan
University.
Therefore, educating adolescents in the
use o f contraceptives is also an im p o rta n t
com ponent to consider while implementing a
comprehensive sex education program.
Experts believe primary school years are
the best tim e for children to learn about sex.
"Everyone needs ongoing and age-appropriate
sex education to help the m develop positive
attitudes toward sex,” said Gou, adding that pri­
mary schools should be encouraged to provide
adequate sex education rather than be criti­
cized for such efforts.
But some parents think their children are
too young to leam about sex in primary school.
The lack o f standardized and authoritative
teaching materials across the country has also
aggravated the situation.
A few years ago, a set o f pilot textbooks
for school sex education in Beijing sparked a
controversy because o f the explicit description
o f intercourse and the accompanying graphic
illustrations.
The books were trying to teach children
about sex and how to avoid sexual abuse but
some parents said the content was too graphic
and not suitable for youngsters.
Du th in k s sex e d u c a tio n should s ta rt
naturally at home. “As educators, we need to
educate children through the ir families first.
In th is way, we can ensure th a t th e m oral
guidance th a t should go w ith sex education
is cohesive and reinforces traditional sexual
norms,” Du said.
'There are a lot o f misunderstandings about
our teaching” said Gou. "Our task is to provide
students guidance instead o f condoning or en­
couraging adolescent sexual behavior."
Observers say th a t compared to China’s
older generations, teenagers in the 21 st cen­
tury have more access to sexual information.
"The awareness o f gender and sexuality
has increased to some extent, but it is still not
enough,” Zhang Yinjun said.
A cco rd in g to her, to make sex educa­
tio n fo r adolescents m ore effective, it has
to be integrated into the education system
throu gh concerted efforts and understand­
ing by society. ■
Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar
Comments to zanjifang(^bjreview.com
AUGUST 4,2016 BEIJING REVIEW 27
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