http://newsinfo.inquirer.

net/809926/sex-education-not-about-sex-
deped
Sex education not about sexDepEd
by: Jeannette I. Andrade - Reporter / @jiandradeINQ

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:39 AM August 26, 2016

Its not about sex, but about matters that affect ones personal safety, hygiene and well-being.

This, according to a Department of Education (DepEd) official, was the primary aim of sexuality education
in the K-12 curriculum, that detractors of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law of
2012 (RH Law) have denounced for supposedly teaching adolescents and grade-school pupils about the sex
act.

Teaching age-appropriate sexuality education in public schools is one of the provisions of the RH Law
whose full implementation President Duterte has pushed for.

ADVERTISEMENT

In a statement, Rosalie Masilang, DepEd Adolescent Reproductive Health focal person and supervising
education program specialist, said teaching sex education in school was meant to equip and empower
learners in making informed choices and decisions on issues that affect their personal safety and well-
being.

Good touch, bad touch

Masilang said that as early as Grade 1, pupils are taught the difference between a good touch and a bad
touch, to help them avoid falling prey to people with impure intentions.

We tell the kids that they have the right to say no! to being touched. Children should learn the kind of
touch that is innocent and that with malice, the DepEd official said.

Children, she added, are most vulnerable to exploitation, mainly from people related to them, and
sexuality education can help them note the warning signs and avoid abuse.

Masilang debunked the misconception among conservative groups that sexuality education was just about
sex, and said that children would also learn the science of reproduction, physical care and hygiene and
puberty. Also included are discussions on gender and sexuality, correct values and the norms of
interpersonal relations to discourage premarital sex and teenage pregnancy.

Teenage mothers

According to estimates by the United Nations Population Fund, more than 60 percent of Filipino women
from 2000-2010 became mothers before they reached the age of 20.
ADVERTISEMENT

Masilang said sexuality education can be integrated in the curriculum either through natural or purposive
means. Natural integration means it would be taught as part of Science, Health, Araling Panlipunan (Social
Studies) and Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (Values Education) subjects. Purposive integration can be done
through Mathematics and Language subjects.

The DepEd official said teachers and guidance counselors teaching sexuality education were equipped with
adequate knowledge and skills to competently handle the subject.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/139118-sex-education-philippines-unfpa

Sex education in PH
schools still lacking
UNFPA
According to the latest report on the implementation of the RH law, the
education department has not yet developed the minimum standards of
comprehensive sexuality education that schools should comply with

MANILA, Philippines Comprehensive sexual education (CSE), a "critical

piece" of the reproductive health (RH) law, still "leaves something to be
desired," according to the country representative of the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) to the Philippines.

"I think the emphasis from the highest level of government to really
implement comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a critical piece
because that means that it drives how everyone who works within the
bureaucracy is able to act, and that was missing in the past," Klaus Beck
told Rappler after a press conference on Thursday, July 7.

While the RH bill was finally enacted under the Aquino administration, its
implementation was delayed by legal questions raised by its critics before
the Supreme Court.

It took the High Court two years to declare the law constitutional. The
health department started fully implementing it months after.
(READ: Meeting RH-related SDG targets: 'Work must start from Day 1')

Status

But the latest report on the implementation of the RH law revealed the
Department of Education (DepEd) has not yet developed the minimum
standards of comprehensive sexuality education that schools and other
learning facilities should comply with.

"DepEd has already included CSE in its K to 12 curriculum although it has

not yet adopted the CSE standards developed by a panel of experts in
consultation with teachers, parents, RH providers, and the adolescents
themselves. Teachers have yet to be trained on how best to deliver age-
specific CSE within the K to 12 curriculum," the report read.

Citing the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO), the report said a scientifically-accurate, culturally and age-
appropriate, gender sensitive and life skills-based CSE reduces risky
behavior among young people who are sexually active.

The report cited the 5-year module on sexuality education developed by the
Cavite provincial health office and the Integrated Midwives Association of
the Philippines, which was based on K to 12 health competency
requirements.

Private midwives demonstrated the use of the module during the Music,
Arts, Physical Education, and Health subject in 5 public high schools.
"Panel survey results that the intervention significantly increased
adolescents' willingness to talk about sex-related matters with responsible
adults," the report said, adding that a number of local government units
(LGUs) have already started using the module.

'Nothing irreligous' about sex ed

Beck on Thursday debunked again the misconception that young people

have more sex when they learn about sexual education in schools.

"Studies clearly show that's not the case.It does not promote sex, but
helps delay sex. They can do it much more responsibly that's the key
difference there."

National Economic and Development Authority chief Ernesto Pernia said

the Duterte administration will go "full speed ahead" in implementing
sexuality education in the country as it is "one sure way" to reduce teenage
pregnancies and unwanted pregnancies. (READ: To avoid RH law delays,
economic planning chief proposes Duterte EO)

"The problem with sexuality, it's a turn off for a religious country like the
Philippines, but there's really nothing irreligious...ungodly about it," Pernia
explained.

"In fact, it's very godly, because I think God does not want couples to have
more children than they can afford because...improving their lives,
achieving dignified and self-fulfilling lives, is going to be impossible for
many of these children who are not properly planned by the parents."

Beck said LGUs should also provide a "supportive environment" that will
make teaching easier for schools.

He said the government should now look at sexuality education in the

curriculum and determine whether it is delivering the intended effects.
The government, he said, should also check whether there is enough
funding for teacher training, since "teaching sexuality is not easy for
anyone, including parents."

"Is it really happening? I don't think we have a very good sense of that, but
our assumption would be that given we're seeing increase in teenage
pregnancy, there is something that is not working well, because if it was
working well, we would probably see the result. That's why we need to look
more carefully at this particular piece," Beck told Rappler. Rappler.com

https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2001/02/
sex-education-politicians-parents-
teachers-and-teens
Sex Education: Politicians, Parents,
Teachers and Teens
Cynthia Dailard

First published online: February 1, 2001

For two decades, policymakers have debated the relative merits of sexuality education that promotes
abstinence as the only acceptable form of behavior outside of marriage and more comprehensive
approaches that discuss contraception as well. The results of several new studies show that these
debates may have had a considerable impact on what is being taught in the classroom; moreover, they
strongly indicate that politiciansin their drive to promote morality-based abstinence-only education
are out of touch with what teachers, parents and teens think should be taught.

In 1981 Congress passed, and President Reagan signed into law, the Adolescent Family Life Act
(AFLA). Through AFLA, the federal government for the first time invested on a small scale in
local programs designed to prevent teenage pregnancy by encouraging "chastity and self-
discipline" among teenagers. AFLA helped usher in 20 years of debate at the federal, state and
local level over whether sexuality education should exclusively promote abstinence or should
take a more comprehensive approach.

In the late 1990s, federal investment in this area increased significantly after Congress, as part of
the 1996 welfare reform law, created a federal-state program funded at $440 million over five
years to support local sexuality education programs that condemn allsex outside of marriage
for people of any ageand prohibit any positive discussion of contraception. Four years later,
conservative lawmakers secured an additional victory when Congress approved
a third abstinence-only education program funded at $50 million over two years through a set-
aside in the maternal and child health block grant.

Yet this major increase in federal funding occurred despite evidence that shows that more
comprehensive sexuality education, rather than abstinence-only education, helps teenagers to
delay sexual activity ("Fueled by Campaign Promises, Drive Intensifies to Boost Abstinence-
Only Education Funds," TGR, April 2000, page 1). It also occurred without clear pictures of
either local sexuality education policies or the content of classroom instruction. Several studies
published within the past year fill in these gaps, highlighting a significant disparity between the
inclinations of policymakers and the needs and desires of both students and parents (see box).
This research also suggests that there is a large gap between what teachers believe should be
taught regarding sexuality education and what is actually taught in the classroom.

LOCAL POLICY

More than two out of three public school districts have a policy mandating sexuality education,
according to research published in 1999 by The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI). Most of these
policiesmore than eight in 10were adopted during the 1990s, a period of intense debate in
many state governments and local communities over whether sexuality education curricula
should include information about contraception as well as the promotion of abstinence.

This AGI research, based on a nationwide survey of school superintendents, found that local
policies overwhelmingly encourage abstinence. Eighty-six percent of school districts with a
sexuality education policy require promotion of abstinence; 51% require that abstinence be
taught as the preferred option but also permit discussion of contraception as an effective means
of protecting against unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs); and 35%
require abstinence to be taught as the only option for unmarried people, while either prohibiting
the discussion of contraception altogether or limiting discussion to contraceptive failure rates.
Only 14% have a truly comprehensive policy that teaches about both abstinence and
contraception as part of a broader program designed to prepare adolescents to become sexually
healthy adults.

The AGI study found significant regional variation in the prevalence of abstinence-only policies
(see chart). School districts in the South are most likely to have such policies (55%) and are least
likely to have comprehensive programs (5%). In contrast, school districts in the Northeast are
least likely to have an abstinence-only policy (20%).

Sex Ed Geography

The type of sexuality education policy adopted by school districts varies widely by region.
Source: Landy DJ, Kaeser L and Richards CL, Abstinence promotion and the provision of information about contraception i
district sexuality education policies, Family Planning Perspectives, 1999, 31(6):280-286.

Clearly, state and local policymakers have strongly supported abstinence promotion for some
time; the AGI study was conducted even before states began implementing abstinence-only
programs funded under the 1996 welfare reform law. Districts that switched their policies during
the 1990s were twice as likely to adopt a more abstinence-focused policy as to move in the other
direction. Half of school superintendents surveyed cited state directives as the most important
factor influencing their current policy; approximately four in 10 cited school boards or special
committees.

TEACHERS

Not surprisingly, this shift in policy has had an impact on teachers and the content of sexuality
education. A second AGI study, based on a survey of public school teachers, shows that since the
late 1980s, sexuality education in secondary schools has become more focused on abstinence and
less likely to provide students with information about contraception. The survey results,
published in 2000, show that the percentage of public school teachers in grades 7-12 who teach
abstinence as the only way of preventing pregnancies and STDs rose dramatically between 1988
and 1995from one in 50 to one in four. Additionally, nearly three in four present abstinence as
the preferred way to avoid unintended pregnancy and STDs.

Teachers are also emphasizing different topics than they did in the past. Compared with teachers
in the late 1980s, teachers today are more likely to teach about abstinence, STDs and resisting
peer pressure to have sex, but are significantly less likely to discuss more "controversial"
subjects such as birth control, abortion and sexual orientation. And while some topicssuch as
HIV and other STDs, abstinence, correct condom use and resisting peer pressureare taught
earlier than they were in the past, most are still taught less often and later than teachers think
they should be.

Although more than nine in 10 teachers believe that students should be taught about
contraception (and half believe that contraception should be taught in grade seven or earlier), one
in four are instructed not to teach the subject. And while the vast majority also believe that
sexuality education courses should cover where to go for birth control, information about
abortion, the correct way to use a condom, and sexual orientation, far fewer actually cover these
topics (see chart).
Thinking vs. Doing

There is a large gap between what teachers think should be taught and what they teach when it comes to birth control
orientation.

Source: Darroch JE, Landry DJ and Singh S, Changing emphasis in sexuality education in U.S. public secondary schools, 198
Planning Perspectives, 2000, 32(5):204-211 & 265.

Even if teachers are allowed to cover these sensitive topics, they may avoid them because they
fear adverse community reaction; more than one-third report such concerns. All in all, these
pressures and limitations lead one in four teachers to believe that they are not meeting their
students' needs for information. A similar percentage of fifth- and sixth-grade teachers who teach
sexuality education believe that schools are not doing enough to prepare students for puberty or
to deal with pressures and decisions regarding sexual activity. Finally, a study published last year
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that a significant proportion of health
educators in secondary schools want additional training in the areas of pregnancy, STD and HIV
prevention.
PARENTS

Most parents (65%) believe that sex education should encourage young people to delay sexual
activity but also prepare them to use birth control and practice safe sex once they do become
sexually active, according to interviews conducted for the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2000. In
fact, public opinion is overwhelmingly supportive of sexuality education that goes beyond
abstinence (see chart,). Moreover, public opinion polls over the years have routinely showed that
the vast majority of Americans favor broader sex education programs over those that teach only
abstinence.

Public Opinion

Americans overwhelmingly favor broader sexuality education programs over those that discuss only abstinence.

Source: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation/ABC Television, Sex in the 90s: 1998 National Survey of Americans on Sex a
Health, Sept. 1998.

Kaiser reports that among the one-third of parents who say that adolescents should be told "only
to have sex when they are married," an overwhelming majority also say that schools should teach
adolescents how to get tested for HIV/AIDS and other STDs (86%), how to talk to a partner
about birth control and STDs (77%), how to use condoms (71%), and where to get and how to
use other birth control methods (68%). This suggests that parents and policymakers differ in their
understanding of what it means to present abstinence as the only option outside of marriage, and
that policies that prohibit any discussion of contraception or that portray it as ineffective may not
reflect the desires of most parents.
In addition to topics that are routinely covered in sexuality education classessuch as the basics
of reproduction, HIV and STDs, and abstinenceparents want schools to cover topics often
perceived to be controversial by school administrators and teachers. Kaiser found that at least
three-quarters of parents say that sexuality education classes should cover how to use condoms
and other forms of birth control, abortion, sexual orientation, pressures to have sex and the
emotional consequences of having sex. Three in four parents believe that these topics should be
"discussed in a way that provides a fair and balanced presentation of the facts and different views
in society." Yet most of these topics tend to be the very ones that teachers shy away from or are
prohibited from teaching. Finally, most parents believe that the amount of time being spent on
sexuality education should be significantly expanded.

STUDENTS

According to Kaiser, students report that they want more information about sexual and
reproductive health issues than they are receiving in school. Approximately half of students in
grades 7-12 report needing more information about what to do in the event of rape or sexual
assault, how to get tested for HIV and other STDs, factual information on HIV/AIDS and other
STDs, and how to talk with a partner about birth control and STDs. Two in five also want more
factual information on birth control, how to use and where to get birth control, and how to handle
pressure to have sex. Yet a significant percentage report that these topics are not covered in their
most recent sexuality education course, or that they are not covered in sufficient depth.
Moreover, Kaiser found that students whose most recent sex education course used an
abstinence-only approach were less knowledgeable about pregnancy and disease prevention than
were those whose most recent sex education was more comprehensive.

Research on teenage males published by The Urban Institute in 2000 suggests that although
sexuality education has become almost universal, students are not receiving even general
information early enough to fully protect themselves against unintended pregnancy and STDs.
According to the Institute, virtually all males aged 15-19 report receiving some form of sexuality
education in school, and the percentage receiving information about AIDS, STDs, birth control
and how to say no to sex increased significantly between 1988 and 1995. The percentage of
teenage males who received formal sexuality education before having sexual intercourse also
increased during that time. However, 30% of teenage males still do not receive any sexuality
education prior to first intercourse, with the rate as high as 45% for black teenage males (see
chart below).

Knowledge Gap

Many young men do not receive sexuality education before they have sexual intercourse for the first time.
Source: Lindberg LD, Ku L and Sonenstein F, Adolescents' reports of reproductive health education, 1988-1995, Family Pla
Perspectives, 2000, 32(5):220-226.

Finally, The Urban Institute found that levels of communication between parents and their
teenage sons remain low. Only half of young men today report ever having spoken to either of
their parents about AIDS, STDs, birth control or what would happen if their partner became
pregnant. Given parents' reticence, it is no wonder that they count on teachers and schools to
convey the critical information that teenagers need to protect themselves when they do become
sexually active.

CONCLUSION

This growing body of research highlights a troubling disconnect: While politicians promote
abstinence-only education, teachers, parents and students want young people to receive far more
comprehensive information about how to avoid unintended pregnancy and STDs, and about how
to become sexually healthy adults.

Nonetheless, conservative lawmakers continue to pursue funding for abstinence-only education,

and the election of George W. Bush as president suggests that additional funding will soon be on
its way. Bush made abstinence promotion a prominent feature of his campaign rhetoric,
promising to "elevate abstinence education from an afterthought to an urgent priority." Whether
his actions will be tempered by new research suggesting that abstinence education is actually
quite prevalent in this country, and that further promotion of abstinence-only education would
run contrary to the desires of teachers, parents and students, remains to be seen.

RECENT STUDIES ADDRESSING SEXUALITY EDUCATION:

"Abstinence Promotion and the Provision of Information About Contraception in

Public School District Sexuality Education Policies" presents findings from the first
nationwide assessment at the school-district level of the extent to which sexuality
education policy focuses on abstinence promotion and whether these policies affect the
provision of contraceptive information. On the basis of a nationally representative
survey of 825 school district superintendents conducted by researchers at The Alan
Guttmacher Institute (AGI) and completed in October 1998, it examines existing policies
across the country and how they vary by district characteristics.

"Changing Emphases in Sexuality Education in U.S. Public Secondary Schools,

1988-1999" compares findings from two nationally representative AGI surveys of public
school teachers in grades 7-12 in the five specialties most often responsible for
sexuality education. The surveys, conducted in 1988 and 1999, each included about
4,000 teachers. Most of the information in the 1999 analysis is from a subset of 1,767
teachers who actually taught sexuality education in recent years. This group represents
an estimated 81,000 teachers and school nurses actually responsible for teaching
sexuality education in grades 7-12.

"Sexuality Education in Fifth and Sixth Grades in U.S. Public Schools" presents
findings from a 1999 AGI survey of 1,789 fifth- and sixth-grade public school teachers.

"Surveillance for Characteristics of Health Education Among Secondary

SchoolsSchool Health Education Profiles, 1998"reports the results of a survey
fielded in 1998 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention among principals in
36 states and 10 localities and health education teachers in 35 states and 10 localities
to determine the content of health education courses, HIV/AIDS education, professional
preparation of health educators, and parent and community involvement in school
health education.

"Sex Education in America: A View from Inside the Nation's Classrooms," by the
Kaiser Family Foundation, presents findings from telephone interviews of 313 principals,
1,001 sexuality education teachers and 1,501 student-parent pairs about their
experiences with and attitudes toward sexuality education.

"Adolescents' Reports of Reproductive Health Education, 1988 and 1995," by

researchers from The Urban Institute, examines changes between the late 1980s and
the mid-1990s in U.S. teenage males' reports of the prevalence, content and timing of
their reproductive health educationboth from formal, school-based instruction and
from their parents. The researchers explore differences in education by age, race and
ethnicity, and compare young men's reports of their formal education in the 1995
National Survey of Adolescent Males with teenage females' reports in the 1995 National
Survey of Family Growth.

https://ejournals.ph/article.php?id=3135

Acceptability of the Inclusion of Sex

Education in Basic Education of
Selected Public Elementary Schools in
Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
RICHMOND D. GABUDAO | Juanita B. Pascua

Abstract:
This study determines the level of acceptability of the respondents on the inclusion of sex education

in basic education of public elementary schools of the Department of Education, Bayombong I,

Division of Nueva Vizcaya. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics.

The analysis employed frequency counts and percentages. Pearson r and t-test, results showed that

the teachers and parents had accepted and showed approval to the inclusion of sex education in

Basic Education. Younger teachers tend to have higher level of acceptance to sex education than

the older teachers in the service. The issue on inclusion of sex education in the basic education

between parents across ages was acceptable. There was a perceived difference among the parent

and teacher respondents as to the inclusion of sex education to Basic Education.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC39911
65/
Knowledge, Perceptions and Acceptability to
Strengthening Adolescents Sexual and
Reproductive Health Education amongst Secondary
Schools in Gulu District
Abstract
Adolescents in Northern Uganda are at risk of teenage pregnancies, unsafe
abortions and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). There is silence on sex both at
home and school. This cross sectional descriptive analytical study interviews a
random sample of 827 students and 13 teachers on knowledge, perception and
acceptability to a comprehensive adolescent sexual and reproductive health
education in O and A level secondary schools in Gulu District. Quantitative
data was analysed using SPSS 16.0. Directed content analysis of themes of
transcribed qualitative data was conducted manually for common codes, sub-
categories and categories. Of the 827 students; 54.3% (449) reported being in a
sexual relationship especially those aged 1517 years. Majority 96.1% (807)
supported the teaching of a comprehensive ASRHE, citing no negative impact
71.5% (601). Majority 81.6% (686) agreed that such education could help
prevention of STIs, abortions and teenage pregnancies, and that it should be taught
by health workers 69.0% (580). Majority 76.6% (203) reported that ASRHE was
not currently being taught in their schools. Students had low knowledge levels and
misconceptions about ASRHE. ASRHE was highly acceptable though not being
emphasized; its success in school settings requires multidisciplinary culturally
sensitive approaches amongst which health workers should be frontiers.
Keywords: Acceptability, ASRHE, Knowledge, Perception