|
Breaking the taboo: Sex education in spotlight
Many school principals do not like the idea of providing sex education. They
think it will open a Pandoras box. - Kim Yoon-ju of the Aha Sexuality
Education and Counseling Center for Youth
December 02, 2009
Most of the nations practical sex education programs are only
available outside the classroom. Above, a group of elementary school students
and their parents learn how fetuses grow at the Songpa Sexuality Center, located
in Songpa District, eastern Seoul. Provided by Changdong Youth
Center.[NEWSIS]
What would you say if you were told that something as
simple as sex education could help Korea stem its rising abortion rate and
prevent child sex crimes?
Many people would likely be all for it, as long as it actually worked.
Some experts, convinced that sex education is indeed the key to both of these
issues, are now aggressively promoting the benefits of teaching children about
the birds and the bees at an early age. Supporters see it as a valid alternative
to a government crackdown on illegal abortions and a stronger deterrent than the
threat of tracking those convicted of molestation with electronic monitoring
devices.
The challenge, however, is convincing parents and teachers that sex education
in the classroom - long a taboo subject in Korea - can help address several
major societal problems.
Lee Hyun-hye, a professor at the Korean Institute for Gender Equality
Promotion and Education, said that learning sex education at a young age could
have helped people like Cho Du-sun, a 57-year-old man who brutally raped an
8-year-old girl. The victim lost 80 percent of her colon and genital organs as a
result.
If Cho grew up with good sex education, Lee said, he wouldnt have raped
the little girl in that cruel way.
Stuck in the 80s
Its a bold assertion that certainly invites some skepticism.
But there are plenty of supporters of the benefits of sex ed as well.
As a way to curb increasing teen crimes, we give lectures at schools on
sexual violence, because we believe it is helpful for teens in some way, said
Lee Ju-hwan, a captain with the National Police Agency.
At the very least, its clear that there is a severe lack of sex education in
the educational system across Korea. In fact, sex education here more or less
remains stuck in the 1980s, as students often receive just an overview of the
subject through simple cartoons that rely heavily on metaphors.
All I remember about sex education is a videotape that showed a swarm of
bees carrying pollen. Thats the only sex education I got from school, recalled
35-year-old Choi Yu-jeong, a graphic designer living in northern Seoul, who
attended middle school here in the late 1980s.
Fast forward to 2009, and things arent much different despite rapid changes
in almost every other aspect of society.
Videos that teach through metaphors are still used by health teachers, and
many students find them boring and useless. According to a survey conducted by
the Aha Sexuality Education and Counseling Center for Youth in 2007, 43.8
percent of teenagers said the sex education they received from schools was
neither helpful nor practical.
At the same time, the country is grappling with a high level of abortions and
an increase in sexual crimes against and among youth.
The number of abortions totaled 350,000 in 2005, according to the latest
government figures, which is much higher than many other countries, experts say.
Additionally, the National Police Agency said in July that sexual violence
committed by teenagers jumped from 1,165 incidents in 2003 to a whopping 2,717
in 2008.
Teenagers are easily exposed to a huge amount of sexual information through
the Internet, but most of it is pornography that deals with one aspect of sex
and does not include life, love and respect, said Kim Ae-sook, director of
Pureunausung, which offers sex education classes.
It gives teens a distorted view of sex. Once teenagers get access to such
content, they become addicted and they want to imitate what theyve seen. What
the teenagers need is someone who can correct this view and give them guidance
on sex.
Reality check
There are numerous barriers in the way, however.
The nation, for instance, has no unified policy on this end. The government
has taken a limited role when it comes to sex education, saying its up to
individual schools.
Its the schools role to allocate their budgets and
decide whether they will have sex education programs, said Cho Myeong-yeon, an
official with the student health team of the Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology.
Earlier this year, the ministry issued new guidelines that suggest schools
nationwide provide at least 17 hours of health classes each year. The courses,
it says, should deal with seven different subjects including diseases, personal
hygiene and sex education.
Some observers applaud the move, but they say its simply a start - not a
solution.
Its a great achievement, primarily because we had no guidelines in the
past, said Kim Hye-sun, a chairperson at the Seoul Health Teachers Association
and a health teacher at Samjeong Elementary School in Banghwa-dong, Gangseo
District, western Seoul. But we have to teach seven different subjects within
17 hours, and that isnt enough to continuously educate children on diverse
aspects of sex in organized ways.
Theres also a lack of manpower.
Take Ewha Girls High School, where there are 14
English teachers yet just one health teacher for the entire student body, making
it difficult to offer in-depth and continuous sex education. Nationwide, each
public school has one health teacher, but some private institutions dont have
any, citing budget issues.
Another challenge revolves around cultural norms and taboos.
In the Confucian-inspired culture, people do not open up about sex, and no
one was really educated about it in the first place, said Lee Hyun-hye, a
professor at the Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education.
Thats why parents do not know how to educate their children.
Since schools dont provide that education either, children must get it
elsewhere.
Many school principals do not like the idea of providing sex education,
said Kim Yoon-ju, head of the education team at the Aha Sexuality Education and
Counseling Center for Youth, located in Yeongdeungpo, southwestern Seoul. They
think it will open a Pandoras box.
And even at outside institutions that attempt to provide sex education, there
often are strings attached.
Many teachers, for instance, want a say in what type of information their
students are getting.
Before I give a lecture to students, teachers often come and tell me not to
mention a few things such as sexual intercourse because they dont want their
students to be sexually stimulated, said Kim Min-a, an instructor at Changdong
Youth Center, located in Dobong District, northern Seoul.
But I think we have to provide teenagers with what they want to know in
direct and straightforward ways. Otherwise, they will browse the Internet and
get wrong information about sex.
Some progressive teachers want to change sex education, but their efforts
often fail. Yu Kyeong-ja, a health teacher working at Boin High School located
in Ogeum-dong, Songpa District, eastern Seoul, said a colleague once received a
barrage of complaints from parents after the teacher demonstrated how to use a
condom.
Parents were mad because they thought the teacher was encouraging students
to have sexual relationships by teaching them how to use contraception, Yu
said. For this reason, I cant go deep into sex education but have to play the
videotapes instead.
New breeze
Fortunately, private counseling agencies are endeavoring to help teenagers
outside the classroom, providing a new method for disbursing sexual information
to youth.
Free counseling through Web sites and phones is available, even for those who
live outside of Seoul. The Naeil Womens Center for Youth and the Aha center
have experience zones where students can learn about contraceptives, including
condoms and birth control pills.
And five government-funded sex educational centers also offer in-depth and
hands-on programs in Seoul.
The Changdong Youth Center is one of them. On a recent Saturday, the center
was packed with a group of elementary school students.
Kim, of the youth center, told the children that sex is not ugly or
perverted, but rather something that is extremely precious.
School teachers want us to touch upon sexual violence and sex trafficking,
which are the negative sides of sex, but were trying to let them know sex is
something we have to know well because it is a way to understand men and women,
Kim said.
Among students who attended the Saturday class, several third graders said
that it was the first time they had received sex education.
It was fun watching an animated film about sperm and eggs. I didnt know
that sperm compete with one another like that, said third-grader Lee Seung-un,
who attended the class.
Another sex education class - held earlier this week at Yongmoon High School,
located in Anam-dong, Seongbuk District - shows positive changes are under way
when it comes to sex education.
Here, 500 or so high school graduates recently sat for a sex education course
presided over by Lee Kyung-hee, an instructor at Pureunausung. Lee talked about
diverse issues ranging from date rape to pornography.
Instead of preaching, Lee gave students detailed information about various
aspects of sex - such as how to communicate with your partner when youre dating
and the difference between men and women - and touched on venereal diseases and
other health threats.
What sex education instructors do is help teens make wise decisions by
teaching them about the true meaning of sex, Lee said.
At the end of the class, Lee received applause from the students.
The sex education class was organized by Choi Nak-won, who teaches Chinese
characters.
After I heard about the Cho Du-sun case, I realized many guys desperately
need guidance on sex, Choi said. Cho Du-sun had very distorted ideas about
sex, and I think many men do as well. A one-hour class is not enough, but I hope
it will help them when these kids grow up and go out into society, as it is one
of the major life skills that we all have to learn.
Advocates, however, admit that sex ed is only one part of a multipronged
approach.
Sex education is one way that we can counter the soaring rate of sex crimes,
but we need a broader approach, said Lee Myung-hwa, head of the Aha youth
center, who has been in the sex education field over the past 19 years.
I think we allow too much sexual violence in the mass media, and it makes
people become insensitive to sexual violence and crimes.
By Sung So-young [so@joongang.co.kr]
Source: Joong Ang Daily
|
