No sex education, please! We are proud Sinhala Buddhists!
January 11, 2020, 5:32 pm
Yet again a Buddhist monk vituperates against a sensible move and with the present government giving greater credence to what the saffron robed lobby says, the beneficial project is in jeopardy and may even be cancelled.
I refer here to sex education in schools, which the majority of right thinking parents and adults approve of. Even conservatives must be won over, juxtaposing dangers children ignorant of sex related matters face against traditional ideas of what is proper. In the face of what the world and society are in this 21st century, one absolutely cannot cling to traditional modesty and continue with taboos that are long outdated. Holding on to traditional reticence to talk about sex is positively dangerous if and when it means children are not aware of the dangers that surround them. Additionally, sex education gives sensible ideas and truths about changes their bodies undergo as they enter the teens; alongside emotional changes. Sex education is mainly two purposed: educative about body biology and psychology; and awareness building on sexual activities and preventives that are imperative, mostly as regards association with people, whether it be potential girlfriends/boyfriends or predators both known and strangers.
Why the Furor
A video went viral in which Ven Prof Medhagoda Abhayatissa turned vituperative over a book titled Hathe Ape Potha for Grade 7 students to subtly and scientifically transfer sex education to them. The monk raged against the Minister of Education, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, and wanted the immediate ban or withdrawal of the book and urged an immediate enquiry by a special commission into the matter. "We need to know who encouraged them to draft a book of this nature which is detrimental to our cultural norms." The Ven Prof quotes from the book in high dudgeon, we are sure, if not vicarious delight!! "Some boys masturbate. It is quite a normal habit but you shouldn’t disturb your studies by getting addicted to it.’(The book says). The monk asks: "What are these adults trying to teach children? In other countries that encourage sex education mothers put contraceptive pills and other requirements into their daughters’ school bags. That is the status of countries that have sex education. After I got this book, I had to lock it up in a cupboard because if samanera monks saw it, it would corrupt their minds as well." I laughed outright at his outburst: not fun laughter but bitter.
One Monk Crusade?
As a mother and ex-teacher and person who has worked with school kids in the field of human and child rights and encouragement of correct ideas of living in a multi religious, multi cultural milieu, I strongly and severely criticize the learned monk. There are so many counter questions to ask him. Why criticize other countries that advocate, go ahead and stress sex education in schools since their free societies are so full of dangers to innocent teenagers, even pre-teens. He makes me laugh derisively when he says he hid the book since samanera monks will have their minds corrupted. He quotes from the book on an activity that occurs and advice is given not to let it disturb one’s studies. Good sensible advice and openness in mentioning truths. But the monk takes it with a strongly diverse and thus perverse slant, that the mentioning of the act is encouraging it. Skewed mind misinterpretation. And why one monk crusade against three Ministries and other departments whose experts planned and produced the book, very cautiously and scientifically and made the text completely acceptable?
Akila Viraj Kariyawasam replied the content had been thoroughly researched and contributors selected from diverse backgrounds and departments – Ministries of Health, Education, Family Health Bureau, National STD/AIDs Control Programme. All relevant as sex education in schools targets to prevent dangers of teen sex indulged in through lack of correct awareness. Additionally, it is a child’s right to know what’s happening to his/her body since most parents are too inhibited to talk freely with their children.
Sex education in three countries
I quote briefly with no comment on results of my literature search:
"Sex education programs in the United States teach students about sexual health as well as ways to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted teenage pregnancy. The three main types of programs are abstinence-only, abstinence-plus, and comprehensive sex education. Although sex education programs that only promote abstinence are very prominent in American public schools, comprehensive sex education is known to be the most effective and is proven to have helped young people make better decisions. Sex education has many benefits as it educates students about the human anatomy and teaches the importance of having healthy relationships.
"Most adolescents in the United States receive some form of sex education at school at least once between grades 6 and 12; many schools begin addressing some topics as early as grades 4 or 5. Academic and other proponents of the National Sexuality Education Standards advocate that by the end of the fifth grade, students should be able to ‘Define sexual orientation as the romantic attraction of an individual to someone of the same gender or a different gender.’ However, what students learn varies widely, because curriculum decisions are so decentralized. Many states have laws governing what is taught in sex education classes or allowing parents to opt out. Some state laws leave curriculum decisions to individual school districts.
In Britain: The Education Act 1996 requires that sex education should inform pupils "about STIs and HIV and encourage pupils to have due regard to moral considerations and family life". It is therefore compulsory for schools to teach the biological aspects of puberty, reproduction and the spread of viruses and infection. In 2017 it was that primary schools taught relationships education while in secondary schools it was relationships and sex education. "Final statutory guidance on was published by the Department for Education in June 2019."
In India the situatopm might be termed even worse than in Sri Lanka. "There has been significant opposition to sex education, specifically for adolescents. In 2007, when sex education curriculum was promoted by India's Ministry of Human Resource Development, controversy developed. Many opponents believed that sex education would corrupt youth and be anathema to traditional Indian values. Additionally, they believed it would lead to promiscuity and irresponsible behavior. Finally, they argued that sex education was a western construct that was being forced upon India. These arguments caused states like Gujerat, Madhyapradesh, Maharashrra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Goa to ban sex education programming." But we are sure in more enlightened centres like Mumbai and Delhi, sex education in schools is coming in. Rape cases in India have been extra horrendous.
In Sri Lanka
I remember writing in this column several years ago about the uproar caused by a disgruntled father of a child in a Colombo international school who reported the school authorities to the Child Protection Authority about a sex education book given to Grade 6 kids with the advice to go through it with their mothers. Because the woman who was head of the CPA at the time called for an enquiry I got the book from a child who had been given it. It was absolutely well done and would prove useful to kids since what they needed to know on this subject was given very well. Fortunately nothing adverse to the school resulted from the fiasco.
In our time, about six to seven decades ago, we learnt stuff from each other! Mothers were absolutely conservative, prudes really. However we needed no cautioning etc because society was so different then. Chaperoning by elders was mandatory; girls were conservatively brought up and evil persons (sex maniacs) were absent. A Colombo convent educated girl says that the school had foreign nuns and principal and they organised a priest to meet AL girls with no staff members present, to discuss ‘Love, sex and marriage’. Enlightened education!
A police report for 2018 states 1196 cases of statutory rape of girls below 16 years, of which 248 were committed forcibly. Many of these would not have taken place if the children had been made aware of dangers that await them, through carelessness or trusting known persons and having them turn sex predators.
Urban late teenagers know stuff, but rural children may be backward and needing counseling if not direct sex education. It’s the younger ones who need advice and cautioning, hence the value of instruction like Hathe Ape Potha.
PS A teacher in a leading girls’ school in Colombo told me Hathe Ape Potha had been recalled from Grade 7 kids it was distributed to. So the Prof Monk has won. I believe that if there are cases of molestation among any of those children, he shares the blame.
